Blood and Darkness
by TuxedoMask2011
Summary: Part 6 of the Sailor Moon story line. Its been 6 months since the defeat of Norman Osborn and the Sinster Seven. A mysterious woman suddenly appears in Crystal Tokyo and is rescued from two inhuman attackers. What is her connection to Hybrid and why is she being pursued by a powerful sorcerer and his legions of other dimensional creatures and warriors?
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Many centuries ago, before the dawn of the Crystal Millennium, there was a fierce battle that the Sailor Soldiers' were destined to lose. Queen Serenity concealed her foe, Queen Metalia and all of her followers, but not before she could give her daughter and the planet guardians' a chance at a second life. They were reborn on the planet Earth: Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus were the first with Sailors Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Saturn awakening later on. Once Sailor Moon and the other were awakened, they set out to defeat the returning evil Queen Metalia, Queen Beryl, and the Dark Kingdom. Together they fought with the powers of love, justice, and friendship, to save the world from her cruel influence.

Among them was a hero known as Carnage. He was a symbiotic warrior who trained each of them to become even better warriors than they were before. Together, the five sailors and Carnage, they fought many threats against the Earth. The Doom Tree, Gaap: The Prince of Demons, and many other foes that threatened the peace and happiness of Earth.

During this time, the love between Sailor Jupiter and Carnage came to life. The example of true love was set by Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask; and brought strength to the warriors as they continued to fight each new form of evil. Carnage began to work less for the Illuminati Council, an organization of Earth protectors, and became a part of his adopted Japanese family, fighting for love and justice full time.

The Dark Kingdom tried to rise again. The cruel leader, Apachite, not only corrupted the Illumninati but the entire world. He controlled various aspects such as governments, criminal groups, and natural disasters, making it difficult to pinpoint the evil forces of The Dark Kingdom at work.

With the help of the Outer Sailor Soldiers (Sailor Neptune, Sailor Uranus, Sailor Saturn, and Sailor Pluto), the warriors were able to defeat the evil Apachite; but their celebration was cut short. Before they managed to destroy him, over 12,000 nuclear missiles were launched. Scattering to detonate across the entire globe. There was nothing the Sailors could do to stop this terrible threat.

As they watched the nuclear missiles come in for the attack, Sailor Moon called upon her Silver Moon Crystal. The powerful item heard her pure hearted wish, and granted it. Carnage, Tuxedo Mask, the Sailor Soldiers, and all of Earth's population were incased in powerful and protective crystal shells. The nuclear bombs hit, destroying entire cities across the Earth and the surrounding land around them, but at least everyone was safe.

They awakened, nine hundred years later. Their protective crystals unleashed them, and they were welcomed back into this new world. A world of rebirth from the destruction that had been caused. The centuries of suspended animation left them to discover the new lush Earth before them.

Erect in the center of what was once Tokyo, was the Crystal Palace. Immediately the warriors knew what this sign of peace meant. The Crystal Millennia had begun! Sailor Moon became Neo-Queen Serenity and Tuxedo Mask became King Endymion, the new king and queen of Earth. These rulers, and their warriors, worked to create a new and peaceful planet for its citizens.

Crystal Tokyo was built, and it was the epitome of peace for the world to see; but evil still haunted the Earth. Some of the Sailors stayed to protect the King and Queen, while others worked to eradicate this evil. Drug dealers, addicts, gangs, and the sort were brought before the Silver Moon Crystal and cleansed, thus purging the influence of chaos and creating and preserving the wonderful environment around the globe. The Sailors and their queen's message of love and peace were needed more than ever. Even after the nuclear holocaust, wars were still being waged for territory and supremacy between various human factions. Selfishness and greed continued to abound. Drugs were still in production. The playing field looked different, but humanity hadn't changed.

With all the good and peace they brought upon the world, there were still those that threatened to destroy it. A hooded magician, by the name of Aldrich Reid, attacked Carnage. The symbiotic warrior lost all of his humanity, and was taken over by the amoral alien symbiote that lived within him. The new, purely evil, Carnage began his rampage of destruction. He killed and harmed many, destroying the peace and security of Crystal Tokyo in his entire wake.

All seemed lost. The wonderful planet, they had worked so hard to rebuild, was slowly being destroyed by one of their own. In the end, Sailor Jupiter's love for her new husband prevailed and saved them. Their daughter, Tera, was to be born, and her lover returned to her to be a part of the love and wonders of this world. His human heart was returned, and he was blessed by the Silver Moon Crystal, suppressing his symbiote's evil nature.

Aldrich Reid was exiled to the Dark Moon, and Carnage locked himself in the dungeons under the Crystal Palace to protect the people he has sworn to protect from further harm. Again, Sailor Jupiter's love prevailed. She reminded him of their new baby, and his warmed heart forced him to fight alongside the soldiers again. He took the name Hybrid and attended regular purifications with his family to keep his symbiote under control. He publicly vowed to redeem himself. He became the Guardian of Earth, and was gifted with The Sword of Gaia. Such a great honor he would not let the King and Queen regret.

Three hundred years passed, aging was no longer a problem, and a great peace crossed the land. The soldiers became lax, trusting that this peace would last. While each Sailor did their own thing: Mars established and worked in the new Hikawa Shrine, Mercury focused on her scientific and medical studies, and Venus ran the local competition center, the second generation of Sailors was trained simply as a precaution.

Young Chibiusa, the darling princess, became the new Sailor Moon, with her guardians the Sailor Quartet. Tera also joined the group of five, as Sailor Earth! With the incredible strength of her mother, and symbiote genes of her father, she became a strong addition to the new generation of sailor warriors. However, she was afraid of her alien power; and she and the others were still young and had never seen the troubles of battle.

Norman Osborn then struck. As the Sinister Seven: Dr. Octavius, The Living Vampire Morbius, The Lizard, The Scorpion, The Vulture, and The Rhino attacked Crystal Tokyo. They captured the original Sailors, leaving the younger sailors feeling doomed, guilty, and unable to fight. The older Sailors, and Hybrid, were locked away in the Oscorp building, completely at the mercy of any plans the villains may have had for them.

Sailor Earth, Sailor Moon, and the Quartet went to fight and bring back their elders safe and sound. They failed their first time out. They were reminded that they were new to the world of battle, and were not experienced enough yet to successfully save the older sailors. Though loving speeches and persuasion, they were convinced to try again by Neo-Queen Serenity, Sailor Pluto, and the guardian cats: Luna and Artemis.

With regained confidence they tried again, and succeeded. Tera was forced to face her personal fears about her alien half and had to fight her own father, who was drugged by Norman Osborn. She learned to trust in her symbiote, and all the other sailors discovered their inner strengths and learned to use them to their advantage.

With the help of the older Sailors, they defeated Norman Osborn after he had transformed into a massive goblin creature. Hybrid became himself again, the drugs in his system wearing out, and the rest of the villains escaped; except for Michael Morbius, The Living Vampire, and Curt Conners who was the human identity of The Lizard. The two were brought back to Crystal Tokyo, and inducted into Sailor Mercury's medical and science teams once they were cured of their vampire and lizard ailments.

The entire city celebrated. They were happy to have their defenders returned, and that the new warriors had proven themselves. Perhaps peace was among them once again! While the younger Sailors continued to train, they and the older sailors each solemnly swore not to return to their lax states. It was decreed that they would return to purging the Earth of chaos' influence where ever it reared up, by defeating the drug and criminal rings and bringing people who hurt the innocent before Neo-Queen Serenity to be purified. As the months of peace continued to pass, they remained vigilant because they all knew that, at any moment, another threat could return.

The dimension of Negonall was only a couple of decades old, by its own standards. To any casual onlookers, and even to some of its citizens, it seemed to have been around for centuries. This is the trouble with alternate dimensions, times are difficult to calculate. It was set up as a trading district, between many of the inhabited worlds that bordered it. It was ruled by the Jikinin, a particularly selfish and greedy group of demons, who wanted power and money all to themselves.

Often times, they would trade goods, but eventually a black market for humans began. The Jikinin, and other dealers, began to kidnap and harvest the humans of Earth, and even from some other planets. The humans were often killed, traded as meat, and blood for power. Others were kept alive, and used to please all the races that came to Negonall, the demon trading district.

It was a dark and hellish city, filled with the stench of death and misery. It was a terrible place, even for the Jikinin that owned it. Only those that knew how to open portals knew how to cross the spaces from dimension to dimension. Trade was fierce, leaving many to suffer, and many Jikinin rich.

And this is where our story begins.

**End of Prologue **


	2. The Price of Freedom

**Chapter 1**

The beautiful blonde was dancing on the stage for another day. Another series of blue and purple orbs floated around her as her hips swayed to the demonic music. The strange crowd of demons began to cheer, she forced a pleasant smile to cross her face as another ribbon around her body disappeared. Iris hated this way of living, but she had been forced to. She was kidnapped many years ago, like so many other humans, and brought to this strange demon city of Negonall.

While the years of torture and sadistic sex had been unbearable, Iris never lost hope. Through quick wit, against selfish demons, she learned many skills that kept her alive. Magic was one of them, and the Latin laced languages of her owners and patrons was the other. She knew she had been lucky to survive so long. It felt like centuries, even though she was often told when another Negonall year had passed and knew it could only have been decade.

She finished her dance, striking an elegant pose so the customers of the Curisex could gawk at her pale frame. The floor of the stage dropped, and she was taken down with it. When she reached the lower level she was greeted by Latice, the owner of the whorish club, the Curisex, and Iris' owner.

"Bova," the large Jinkinin cried excitedly, pulling Iris from the stage's platform. "We made three times as much as we usually do!" She spoke in the Jinkinin tongue, something Iris learned through her many years in the demon dimension. It was one thing Latice loved about her slave, Iris, the fact that she understood the demonic languages perfectly. The large green woman huffed proudly, her sparkly two piece shining as she did. She straightened out her hair, and then gave Iris a quick nod of approval.

"Is it dinner time?" Iris asked gently, using the Jinkinin tongue. She picked up a ragged dress from the floor, and dressed.

Latice gave her a strange look, one of irritation and frustration. Lately, Iris had become more and more outspoken. It was as if she forgot her place as a Bova, or cattle of the Jinkinin, to trade and use. Iris didn't care, her mind had often been elsewhere, and at this time it was on food.

"Dinner is being served," Latice sneered, slightly irritated.

Iris didn't wait for Latice to say anything else, nor did she stay to thank her owner. She ran gracefully from the lower stage, and through a large door to the slave quarters. This had been Iris home for far too long. She couldn't complain though; Latice didn't beat and abuse her like many of her previous owners, and she was fed a regular and decent meal every day. Perhaps, Iris had just grown tired of being here. Who wouldn't after being forced to live in a demon dimension for practically a decade or so?

Her feet moved quietly across the floor, it was if she was floating down the hall. On either side of her were rows and rows of barred cells, where all the female prisoners lived. The door to each cell was opened, and many of the girls were huddled together in select cells chatting. All of them were eating that night's portion of stale bread and drinking sickly wine in broken mugs.

Iris reached her own cell. The door was slid open and Ann, her neighbor, sat on the dirty stone floor. Ann had a few slices of stale bread, and was sipping wine out of a broken mug. Beside her, was Iris' dinner: a bowl of beef stew, a plate with a fresh loaf of bread, and pitcher of clear water with the nicest mug she had ever seen in Negonall. There certainly were perks to being Latice's favorite. The club's kitchen had always fed her decently. While the stew tasted like dirt, the clear water was a luxury in this dimension.

She smiled at her young friend, and pulled the loose rags tighter around her body. She took a seat on the floor, took the loaf of bread, and split it in half.

"Here," she said, handing the steaming bread to Ann, "you need to keep your strength up."

"I can't take that," Ann said sweetly, blushing at the kind gesture. "The other girls would be jealous of me. Besides, it's your dinner."

Iris smiled again and then set the loaf half on Ann's lap. Ann was sixteen, with strawberry blond hair, and freckles painting her face. Iris was sixteen when she was kidnapped, and Ann had only appeared here a couple months prior. It saddened Iris to see the sun kissed girl turn pale and frail in these harsh conditions. Iris remembered how the same thing had happened to her. The young girl settled back in her dirty burlap dress, and took the bread gratefully. She ate it slowly, looking up at Iris with gratitude.

Iris had not been able to calculate how long she had been gone. Time was different in this world. It couldn't have much longer than a decade. When she looked in the mirror, she no longer the saw the scared sixteen year old she had been when she first arrived in Negonall. Instead, she saw a grown woman. Thankfully, due to her magical abilities and, in particular, the healing spells she had learned, her body was no longer scared or blemished with the harsh years and physical abuse she has gone through. Her magic was the other reason Latrice liked her so much. Iris' magical dance was one of Negonall's main attractions and brought races of demons, and humans alike, to see her. There was never much to do when Iris wasn't dancing or pleasing clients, so she amused herself by casting spells and illusions for the other girls.

She smiled at her young friend, and then looked to the pitcher of water and mug. She waved her hand and called upon the power of wind. Water and Air were discovered to be her main elements, although she was developing a fine mastery over fire as well. A cool breeze blew from her hand across the floor to the pitcher. To the untrained eye, it couldn't be seen; but Iris saw the purple energy as it grasped the pitcher. The water holder rose into the air, and slowly tipped to pour the water into the mug on the floor.

Ann's eyes opened with awe, and she quietly gasped and applauded at the magical sight. Iris set the pitcher down, and then used her purple coloured wind to pick up the mug and bring it to her. She grasped it, and then took a sip of the cool water. Ann's quiet applauds grew fiercer and Iris gave a mock bow from her spot on the floor.

"I wish I could do magic," Ann chanted, her fingers ripped hungrily at the little that was left of the fresh bread. She brought the small pinches to her mouth and savored the flavor.

"It's not as easy as it looks," Iris laughed. She then pulled the bowl of stew between them and began ripping her own pieces of bread from what was left of the loaf. She dipped the bread in the brown water before putting it into her mouth. "Besides, once we get you out of here, I'll cast a protection spell, and you never have to worry again. You'll be safe, and back with your family," she whispered fiercely between bites.

"You're coming too, right?"

Iris sighed, "I will, but I won't stay with you. I have to look for my own family, if they're still alive."

Ann shook her head in disbelieve, dipping the last of her bread in the stew. "Of course they're still alive! What would make you say such a thing?"

"Ann," she sighed again, pushing the bowl to the teenager. She nodded her head and motioned for her friend to eat it. "I've been here for a long time. I don't know exactly how long. Plus, if I have learned anything about dimensions, time works differently between them. I have seen many human regulars of the club get noticeably older and older each time they come. Even if my family is not alive, I need to escape this place and start a new life for myself. I refuse to die in this toilet… You have something to go back to, I might not." She took another deep breath, as if what she was about to say next would be difficult. Ann gave her a compassionate grin, trying to ease Iris' pain. "If they are alive, there's no saying they'll take me back. I've done terrible and disgusting things, against my will or not, to survive. They shouldn't be burdened with me; and neither should you or your family."

Ann reached out a pale dirty hand and placed it on one of Iris'. "You're not a burden; you've taken care of me. I wouldn't have lasted this long without you watching over me."

Iris shrugged and looked away, unwilling to continue the conversation. She busied herself with her food. Several minutes passed between the two of them. While they remained silent, the quiet chatter of the other girls could be heard around the slave's quarters. Eventually, dinner time ended for some of them, and the bright red lights and loud buzzards went off to cue them to return to the stage. Iris knew she would have to dance again before she got to sleep, but she felt numb to any concern she might have once had about it.

"So, are we really escaping?" Ann whispered, pulling Iris back to the room and the cold reality around them.

She nodded, eyeing the girls suspiciously as they passed. "After I dance tonight, we're going to remove our trackers," she whispered, gesturing to the rings in her arms and legs. They were piercings that Latice put in all the girls that came in. The cold grotesque metal let the other demons in the district know that they belonged to the Curisex, and thus were owned by Latice. Every so often, Latice let Iris or some of the other girls leave the Curisex, usually for errands around Negonall. If they strayed too long or too far, Latice knew and, using those tracker piercings, she was able to hunt them down and bring them back. The other nasty aspect to them was that Latice could run a strong electric shock through them, to stun or torture the girls, using a remote control she always kept with her. It was meant to stop a revolt or a non-compliant prisoner, but Latice had adopted it as a measure to keep her girls under control and their spirits broken. "Then we'll leave. I have been practicing a spell to unlock doors. When I run errands, I have been looking for ways to leave the dimension. I have seen a portal in the northeaster corridor, in an alley. We'll go there."

"Why haven't you left before?" Ann asked curiously.

"Because," Iris reached forth and brushed some strawberry blonde hair from Ann's eyes, "I promised I would get you home."

Hours passed, dinner time finished, and all the girls returned to their cells where the doors closed and locked. Lights continued to go off in certain rooms, and the loud buzzard that accompanied the lights signaled the unlocking of select cells. The chosen girl of the open cell walked down the hall where a guard opened the door to the stage area.

Iris waited impatiently for her own light and buzzard to go off. She paced the small cell, murmuring magic words to herself. Every so often she cast the spell to unlock her cell door. She then locked it, and stared at the dark red light bulb above her. Several more minutes pass and, finally, the bulb lit up and the buzzard sounded. The door unlocked by itself and rose. Iris passed into the corridor and toward the door leading to the stage.

Iris, ever graceful, carried herself like a true ballet dancer. Although, while she was on the stage, her hips swayed and she moved provocatively, the grace of her movements gave way. When she cast her spells, creating energy orbs and illusions, the crowd was impressed. Very few humans had magic in this demon world; and very few seemed as beautiful as Iris. Her long curly blond hair danced with her, and her blue eyes stared into the distance entrancing all the individuals that looked upon her. She took pride in her dance, not because she was pleased of the onlookers' enjoyments, but because she utilized her skills and created an art unlike anybody else. That was the main reason she had lasted so long at the Curisex club.

When the dance finished, the center part of the stage descended, and Iris was taken back below. Latice praised her again and Iris dutifully acknowledged it. She dressed in the rags left on the floor by her feet and returned to her cell, ignoring the other suffering girls as she passed. She waited several hours for 'night' to come.

Negonall didn't have a day cycle or a sun that she could see. It seemed to be someplace underground and every hour seemed to be night. It was a miracle that she and the other girls weren't suffering from a vitamin D deficiency. Though, when the dances were done, and the Curisex closed its doors, the lights to the building were shut off and the girls were given several hours to sleep. The conditions were a long way from the bed that Iris had slept in as a little girl, but she had always been grateful for the time of rest. While the small piece of wood bolted to the wall in each cell felt like cardboard, it was better than being chained to walls like many of her past situations.

Before the lights were fully shut off, one of the dancers down the hall exited their cell. There was no flashing light or loud audible buzzer to announce the cell door opening, which struck Iris as odd. The dancer had dark hair, and cruel brown eyes. She glared at Iris while she passed her cell. Again, Iris mentally noted that it was strange for one of the girls to be leaving their cell at this hour. The girl with the cold eyes looked older, and certainly had the curvy shape of a grown woman. She moved silently down the corridor, much like a ninja. Although she took the time to glare at Iris, she was quick to leave with full grace and without sound.

Iris remembered earlier when the girls were leaving to dance during the tail end of dinner. She had seen that curvy figure and dark hair walk by. It was strange that she had never recognized her before. She took note of every dancer in her cell block, as Latice would sometimes ask her to teach them how to preform so that her customers would spend more money. Perhaps this girl was a new dancer, recently kidnapped; but that didn't make sense to Iris. That woman didn't appear to have the flinching fear and terror that many newcomers had.

Soon after the woman left, the lights went out. It was bedtime. Iris waited several minutes in the silence, and then stretched her fingers to do their work. The door to the cell next to hers unlocked. The click was nearly inaudible, but loud enough to echo through the dark space. She silently cursed, afraid that any little sound would ruin her plan.

Ann stood inside her cell, keeping the ragged blanket she had been given when she first arrived wrapped around her. She slowly bent down and lifted the cell door, cringing as the rusty metal creaked as it moved upwards along its tracks. Once the door was opened high enough, she stepped through and carefully guided it back down to the floor, closing the door behind her. Iris unlocked her own cell door when Ann came into view outside it. They both cringed and shuttered as the door slid open loudly, but none of the guards came to investigate. After Iris quietly closed the door behind her, Ann met with her in the center of the cell, breathing furiously.

They both sat on the floor, putting the blanket over their heads. Once they were underneath it, Iris cast another spell. A bright blue orb floated to the top, creating a tent and illuminating the enclosed space around them. Without saying a word, Iris picked up a small rag and put it into Ann's mouth. She knew what she was about to do would be painful, but it was necessary if they wished to leave that night.

Ann took a deep breath, instinctively knowing the reason for the rag in her mouth. She gripped the fabric between her teeth and bit down as hard as she could while closing her eyes. Iris took hold of, and stretched, Ann's left arm out between them. The scars left by the insertion of the looped piercings had already healed, becoming a part of her flesh. Iris put a finger to her lips signaling Ann to remain quiet. The young girl looks away, biting the fabric in her mouth even tighter.

The small blue orb hovering above them was just enough light for Iris to see her work. Slowly, she undid the balls to each metal loop and then, with her own hands, she began to pull them out from the skin. The rings were large, going deep into the flesh. As she slowly pulled each one out, thick red blood began to flow. She worked quickly and delicately, muttering words under her breath to cause the skin and muscle to reknit itself and stop the bleeding. Ann quivered in pain; it was obvious that she was struggling to remain quiet. When Iris removed the last piercing, she muttered her magic words once more and watched as the skin reknit itself. When the arm was done, Iris took the cloth from Ann's mouth to wipe the dripping blood that escaped onto the flesh, as well as the tears of pain that continued to run down the sides of the young girl's face.

Her work was far from over. Latice branded her girls with the piercings and tracking metals so thoroughly, it was a wonder that most didn't die from infection. Iris shoved the soiled cloth back into Ann's mouth, sorry that she had to suffer with the taste of her own blood. Iris took Ann's right arm, and began the process again. Her magical words of healing never ceased, she repeated them like a meditation mantra as she quickly removed the piercings. The skin knit and again she took the cloth to wipe off the escaped blood and tears.

When the arm looked okay, she put the cloth back in Ann's mouth. It's all they had, and Iris never had the opportunity to learn a sterilizing spell to clean the fabric. She had Ann stretch out her legs. The metal piercings went all the way from her ankles to her pelvis, and Ann lifted the bottom of her rags so Iris could get to them, shaking from nausea.

Quickly, Iris did the same process with both legs at the same time. Ann moaned between the cloth, the metal trackers were deeper into the muscles than they were in the arms. When the last spell was done and the legs were healed, Iris took the cloth to wipe the blood from them, revealing the unscarred new skin. The cloth was completely stained an unsettling brown as the older blood began to dry. Iris looked up at Ann's face, the sides of her face had long streaks as the tears from her eyes washed the dirt and grime down her chubby apple shaped cheeks.

Ann's head fell to one side, hinting that the pain was too much for her to handle. Her eyes shut and her body sagged into itself. Iris guided the young girl's body safely to the ground and gently patted her head, silently wishing there was some additional comfort she could give. She knew she couldn't but she let the girl rest while she worked on her own body.

Iris put the dirty blood rag into her mouth, biting down on it in anticipation. She did her left arm first, since her right hand was steadier. The tears formed in her eyes as she felt the metal release from her muscles and flesh. When the blood began to pour, she began to feel sick and light-headed. She took a deep breath through her nose, reminding herself to stay strong, for Ann's sake. She muttered the healing spell out of the corners of her mouth. The Latin came out in mumbles, but she immediately began to see results.

When her left arm was done, she worked on her legs. First the left, then the right. She tried so hard not to cry out, and focused on the words of her spell to make her legs whole again. By the time she got to her right arm, the tears were streaming down her face in a continuous flood. She was crying and fully unsure if she could continue. However, she knew that she must. They had reached the point of no return. The penalty for removing one's tracking piercings was death, and Iris vowed a long time ago that she would not die in this place if she had anything to say about it. The pain through her limbs continued to burn. She began to understand why the term "white hot" was used to describe the sensation when a person felt intense pain.

Ann's head suddenly shot up and she looked at Iris. Tears filled her eyes as she saw the drying blood that stained her friend's left arm and legs. She gave Iris a look of compassion and encouragement as she slowly sat up and took Iris' right arm in her hands. She began to unscrew the balls and then pulled the rings through the arm, mimicking what she had seen Iris do to her a short time ago. The blood poured out and Iris tried with everything in her not to scream out. She'd been through worse pain than this, but it had been so long ago that she nearly had forgotten what it felt like. Latice had never truly hurt her, she left that for the sadistic guards or her clients. The female Jinkinin was kind enough to put the girls to sleep before putting the tracking devices in them. While the piercings hurt when they awoke, they had been denied the more excruciating part of the pain. It was a small blessing and probably the only to be found in the entire city or dimension.

When the rings were finally all out, Iris quit panting and grinding her teeth into the cloth. She could taste fresh blood inside her mouth, indicating that she had missed the fabric a few times and had bitten down on her tongue. She spit out the rag and mumbled the healing words. Both the young women watched as her words healed and knitted the damaged skin and muscle tissue back together. When it was finished, she picked up the damp and sticky rag from the floor and used it to wipe the dried blood off of her left arm and legs, and then the fresh blood on her right arm. Satisfied that she was clean enough to move, she made the blue orb disappear and took the blanket off of them.

She spread out the blanket, and began picking up the discarded metal rings, throwing them into a pile on the blanket. Ann began to help. The simple work gave them plenty of time to get their eyesight back, allowing them to re-adjust to the dark and gloomy atmosphere of the cell block. Once all of the metal rings were collected, Iris silently shoved the blanket against the wall and began to force it through the small hole that connected her and Ann's cells. It took about a minute to push and bend the fabric and its sharp contents into the tiny hole but somehow Iris made it work. She turned around and gave Ann a thumbs up. The young girl returned the gesture and they both stood up to face the cell door.

Latice stood in her lavish office above the Curisex. While it was the girls' time off, it was her time to count the money and go through any letters, bills, or messages. While she counted her coins and paper money, something she usually enjoyed doing, her mind wandered to something else. Some new dancer had wanted to see her and had told her as much after her dance. She was a curvy dark haired girl. One the crowd clearly enjoyed and one she had yet to brand with her tracking devices. She made a mental note to herself to do that before opening up the next day.

The girl had seemed happy, but there was a noticeable cruelty in her eyes and smile. Latice wasn't sure where she had purchased her from, or what her previous owner had even called her, but why should she concern herself with learning the names of her slaves? There was certainly something curious about her though. The girl was probably standing outside the office door as she counted the Curisex earnings for the nights. Almost certainly, a Jinkinin guard was standing with her, waiting for her to open the door, hear what the girl had to say, and then demand he escort her back to her cell.

Latice didn't want to be concerned with her as there were much more important things that demanded her attention. However, she couldn't ignore the reality that it was rare for someone to come speak to her at this time, especially one of her girls. Bova, they were such stupid beings. Humans were known to run by their emotions and were easy to manipulate. They were the reason Negonall had flourished as well as it did. Latice couldn't concentrate any more, her curiosity around the girl's reasons for wanting to see her continued to run through her mind had made it impossible for her to accurately count anymore. She pushed away from her desk and stood up. She walked over to the door with the clear intention of wanting to get this visit over with. She flung the door open with ferocity and looked at the black haired diva square in the face.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" She sneered, displeased that she had been interrupted during her favorite part of the day.

"I thought you should know that two of your girls are planning to escape," the woman flatly said, showing no fear or hesitation from Latice's intimidating demeanour. The female demon also noticed the sound of authority that was in the young girl's voice. The black haired bova gave her a cruel smile as she waited to see the club owner's reaction.

"That's not possible. They won't get very far. Who are they? I'll be sure to send a search party in the morning to teach them a lesson." This wasn't something Latice had ever been concerned about. Many girls had tried to escape, very few getting passed the slaves' quarters cells. If they did manage to leave the Curisex, her tracker piercings would lead her right to where they were; at which point they would be brought back and severely punished for their stupidity. She had fire, torture devices, the electric shocks of the trackers, and the thick fists of her guards as options. However, she usually just punished them by giving them a week without food. In almost every case, the girls would never try to escape again after that. She found this was a better method since it didn't involve damaging her property and thus lessening her return investment in them. What reason should she have to worry if two more girls attempted what so many had tried before and failed?

"I know Iris was one of them."

Latice didn't remain where she stood to hear more. Iris had always been her favorite dancer. The girl brought in more money than anyone she ever had, and she could speak and understand the Jikinin language. The girl was amazing, able to translate for the girls, and moved like no other. Latice had made sure to pay her for the skill. Decent food was always given to the girl, and she was released for errands on several occasions. Latice never thought the girl would be foolish enough to try to escape.

Iris also had magical skills. Sure, she mostly did illusions and parlor tricks, but if she had more advance magicks up her sleeves… Latice didn't want to think about it. She pushed past the black haired girl, nearly knocking her over, and ran down the stairs. She rushed through the Curisex dance club and down another flight of stairs to the slaves' quarters.

When she came to the door, she found it was unlocked and with a deep crack that nearly split it in two. The two guards on duty were lying on the floor, beaten and bloodied. It was clear they hadn't been attacked by human hands, as Jikinin were much stronger than humans and could easily overpower even the strongest. From the looks of the guards' conditions, it was as if they had been forced into the walls by some other powerful means.

Latice shrieked and slammed what was left of the door open, breaking it off its hinges. She flipped the wall switch to illuminate all of the rows of cells. Some of the girls sat up from their cots to look at their furious owner. Other's gasped, fearing that the woman might attack them. Latice ran down the hall, ignoring the cells and girls as she passed. When she reached Iris' cell, she saw that the door was closed, but it was empty. She looked at the cell next to it and it too was closed and empty.

She shrieked again, yelling a couple curses as she ran back down the hall and all the way to her office. The girl and the guard were still standing there. Both of them gasped at her, the girl because she thought Latice would take her rage out on her and the guard because he had never seen his boss this angry. Latice ran to the large device in the corner of her office and flipped it open. She pushed a few buttons and a large hologram of Negonall popped up.

"Iris, tracking," she dictated. The curvy dancer and the guard slowly walked into the office and stood behind her, but at a respectable distance. The guard grimaced and the dancer gave a stone walled face. They both stared over Latice's shoulder as the device calculated where the girls had gone. A bright yellow dot appeared on the screen. It was on the Curisex club. Latice couldn't help but smile as a sense of relief washed over her. She had been right earlier about there not being a reason to panic. The two girls were still on the club's premises and probably wandering through the basement area in their quest to escape.

"Zoom in," she demanded. The screen zoomed onto the building of the Curisex. "Zoom further." The holographic map broke through the walls of the building, showing the internal part of the club. The yellow dot began to grow as it zoomed into the lower level of the building. Near the center of the slaves' quarters, the dot showed that Iris was still there.

A lot of time would be wasted, while Latice ran back to the cell, opened it and searched every corner for the girls. Perhaps they had gone invisible? Of course, the only thing the cruel club owner would later find was a blanket stuffed beneath the wall with the tracking rings wrapped inside it.

Iris and Ann moved quickly along the streets of Negonall. They didn't wish to run, as it would bring attention from all the demons that roamed the city. The last thing they wanted was to be brought back to the Curisex, or worse, be captured by a new slave owner. When they had both made it out to the street, Iris had cast a "glamour" spell on both of them, making them appear to look like demons. She knew it would take Latice some time to discover that they were gone, but she made sure they moved fast enough to get to the portal she'd seen on many occasions during her errands quickly.

She knew it was some distance away, but she hoped they could reach it within the hour. Ann diligently stood by her side and grasped her hand. The young girl was panting, they'd already covered a lot of distance; and, although they hadn't been running, Ann was struggling to keep up the pace. Iris pulled her along. She would apologize later, for forcing her to struggle on the beaten up roads of Negonall, but her concern was making sure they got to the portal and to safety.

They stuck to the shadows and alleyways. Iris had mapped their journey out in her mind. They passed dilapidated buildings and empty street stalls. Luckily, most of the demons in Negonall kept to themselves and, when they passed them, the illusionary spell fooled them and the girls were ignored. There were a few twist and turns, but Iris never stopped, making sure Ann remained by her side. The path she came up with would keep them out of trouble, and hopefully make searching for them difficult.

Finally, they reach the long and dark corridor. It was between two huge buildings they couldn't see the top of if they tried. They were only a few feet away from freedom. Iris prayed the portal was still open, as she broke into a sprint. Ann struggled to keep up, but realized they were so close! The feeling of hope welled up inside her and she found a reserve of inner strength that pushed her body forward and allowed her to keep pace with Iris.

At the end of the corridor, a black tunnel spun. Iris had seen many humans with dark business come out of it. It had to be a portal, and it had to take them back to Earth, to home! If it didn't work she didn't know what she and Ann would do. It had to work. It was their only chance.

The portal shimmered and rippled a little, which Iris immediately remembered was the sign that someone was coming through it. She and Ann stood their ground, confident that the glamour spell on them would disguise their true forms. A few seconds later, a man stepped out of the portal. He looked very old with long grey hair and a long grey and white goatee. The top part of his head was completely bald and he was dressed in garments that Iris recalled seeing many men of Asian descent wearing back on Earth before she had been kidnapped.

Iris and Ann remained where they were when they saw him. They couldn't let him see that they were anxious or nervous, as it would make him suspicious and could make their escape difficult. They were so close to freedom that they couldn't afford any mistakes or delays. Iris stared at him a bit longer, there was something about this man, something familiar that was gnawing at the back of her mind. Had she seen him before at the club or something? She could see he was clearly of Asian descent by his facial features; and under his dark red and black robes, she could see that despite his advanced age, he appeared to be strong and well-built.

"Well," he said with a smile. He spoke in Chinese, and it took Iris a moment to translate. Luckily, the language was similar to another demon dialect she had learned. "It looks like two puppies have lost their way."

Ann looked at Iris slowly, wondering what the man had said and wondering if her friend understood it.

"Excuse me?" Iris said in perfect Chinese, refusing to take her eyes off the man that had just come through the portal. There was something strange and familiar about this man, she couldn't help but feel intrigued. He was also blocking their only path to escape.

"I'm sorry, perhaps _puppies_ isn't the right term," he said with a confident grin. He gave a confident smirk and glanced over the two demon shrouded girls. "What do you call them? _Bitches_?"

Ann gasped and returned her gaze to Iris. "Did he just…"

Iris threw a hand up to quiet Ann. "Who are you?" She knew Ann couldn't understand them. Chinese was a difficult language to learn, and she was only able to translate and converse thanks to her studies of demon languages.

"I am Shang Tsung, and I'm here to stop you girls from escape."

"Shang Tsung," Iris let the name roll off her tongue, momentarily glancing at Ann to see if she recognized it. Iris couldn't remember if she knew that name or not, but the fact he said he was stopping their escape made her heart race. Her legs seemed to buckle beneath her and she wasn't sure what her next move would be.

Suddenly, he lunged at them. His fluid movements made it look like he was flying through the air. Iris shoved Ann behind her and threw up her arms in defensive reflex. He shoved her back with both hands and she fell backwards on top of her teenage friend.

"Why are you doing this?" Iris screamed as she tried to scramble to her feet.

Shang remained where he landed. He stood completely cool and composed as he watched Iris stand. A cruel grin crossed his face, as he threw out an arm to punch Iris in the side of the face. His movements were so quick, Iris didn't have a chance to stop him, and found herself on the ground again. "This is where you both belong; especially you…" his smile grew wider as he looked down at the struggling woman, "Iris." The name spilled from his tongue like poison.

How did he know her name? Shang made to lunge at Ann and Iris immediately jumped in the way. Her head was spinning. He knew her name! He stood over her, and she rose her arms to protect her; but she couldn't help but look over her wrists to scrutinize the man with her eyes. He knew her name and he was trying to stop them. In that moment, she made up her mind. If it was her or Ann, Ann would escape.

"You belong here," he said again, grabbing Iris by her wrists. With one hand, he pulled her to her feet by her thin arms. She swallowed back a scream as he held her in the air. "You belong to Negonall." He then threw her to the side, and she slammed hard against one of the dilapidated brick walls surrounding them.

"Ann!" She shrieked, just before she hit. The impact of the wall forced the wind out of her, and she crumpled to the ground like a rag doll. Ann was suddenly beside her, helping her back to her feet.

"What's happening?" The young girl asked.

Iris grabbed her and threw her toward the portal, "get out of here!" She tried to regain her footing and narrowed her eyes to the man before her.

Ann began running but Shang was already between her and the swirling black exit. How did he get there? Iris had seen him moments before on the other side of them. How fast was this guy? Ann screamed as the man punched her with a harsh uppercut. She was thrown back and there was nothing Iris could do to stop the impact.

When Ann landed, Iris drew in a breath. She tried to find her focus and plant her feet into the cobblestone ground. She breathed out and threw her hands in front of her. Several Iris imitations filled the ally, standing stricken towards the man. He glared at them, and then laughed.

Iris didn't waste any time. She rushed from the wall and grabbed Ann by the arms. While she was barely able to help Ann to her feet, she would have carried her to the portal if she had too. Shang looked around at the Iris imitations, but he seemed to be fully aware of where the real Iris and Ann were. Iris bull rushed the man, hoping to throw Ann into the portal behind him.

Her body slammed into his, but he didn't react. She was frail and thin while he was strong and muscular. It was as if she threw a tiny pillow into a brick wall. She had tossed Ann around him, but the girl fell short of the portal. Her legs has given up and let her fall to the ground.

"How can you say anyone belongs here?" Iris forced the Chinese words out. She remained against the broad well aged man, and looked up at him with defiance. She had to buy Ann time to crawl to the portal. She hoped she could escape too, but getting Ann out was more important than her own life.

Shang laughed. His slanted eyes gave hint to his complete amusement. "Because it's true. You know you belong here, Iris." He grabbed her upper arms and threw her out in a spin to his side. His arm spread out in a huge gesture before him, "you belong in this dark and crummy dimension. Why would you want to go back to Earth? This is your home now."

Iris stood dumbfounded, staring down the dark alley passed his outstretched hand. Her face reddened a bit. It was true. She had been in Negonall for a long time, over a decade at least. Who knew how much time had passed on Earth? Had this demon dimension really become her home? What did Earth hold for her.

"You know I'm right," Shang said, looking over to her like an overbearing father, "what do you have on Earth to go back to?"

Her mind immediately snapped back to reality. "My family," she spat, looking over to Ann who was still struggling on the ground.

"Who's to say they'll take you back?" He asked, also looking to Ann. His smile grew wider, "you've been used, abused; what makes you think anyone wants a prostitute in their home?"

Iris bit her lip. That was the thing she was most afraid of. She had been a slave, of sex and abuse for years. No one would in their right mind would want her. She was terrified to go home and explain to her mother and her brother what had happened to her… who she was now.

She looked back at Ann, who was still struggling on the ground. The girl seemed so tiny and weak as she grasped for parts of the cobblestone to drag herself closer to the portal. Tears were slipping down her face, and suddenly something became clear to her. "Ann has a family to go back to. At the very least, let her go."

Shang rose an eyebrow at her. Her heart pounded, hoping he was considering her request. "I can't do that," he said simply. He then threw a roundhouse kick at her. It was perfectly executed, and he was so fast she wasn't able to block it. She flew into the back wall, right beside the portal. She fell to the ground and grabbed her chest. Immediately, she knew her ribs were broken, but she couldn't worry about it now.

She looked over to Ann who was now on her back. The small girl struggled. Iris' shrouding spell, that had made them look like demons, had worn off. She hadn't been able to remain focused to keep it on them. Ann's strawberry blonde hair was spread out across the stone, and her pale skin showed under her dirty ragged dress. Shang stepped over to stand at her feet, he looked down at her with a grimace.

Iris tried to rush to them, but the pain in her chest forced her to remain on the ground. Shang laughed maniacally as he spread his hands over her. A blue stream of energy formed from his hands onto Ann.

Ann screamed. Her body flailed as she tried to resist but she could feel herself being pulled from her body. Iris shouted at her, but it was too late for her to do anything. What looked like a transparent sheet ripped off Ann's body. Ann gave a blood curdling scream as the transparent body absorbed into Shang's hands with a blue light.

"She won't be going anywhere, and now I have her soul," Shang let out crazed laugh.

Ann's body was now lifeless, and the pale skin now appeared translucent. It looked like a brittle shell as it fell onto the cobblestone. Iris felt the pain her chest intensify and she was about to scream with anger. Before Shang finished laughing, Iris thought about jumping up and attacking him. She wanted to tear the man's throat out and feel his blood cover her face.

Instead, she feebly began to crawl onto her side. She threw her body into the portal. Black swirling energy surrounded her and all went dark. Iris could hear Shang's laughter following her. Her ears were still ringing with the sound of Ann's scream. He sucked out her soul! Now she was dead. Iris' only friend, the one person she swore to protect, was dead.

The portal surrounded her in darkness, and Iris curled into a ball, holding her chest. She let out a scream and allowed herself to cry.

**End of Chapter 1**


	3. Castle Seige

**Chapter 2**

Before The Great Sleep, the Maggia's rise to power had it been incredible. It was a rich crime group based in Southern Europe and Italy, where its main leader, Count Nefaria, resided. The destructive force spread all the way to the United States where it controlled many of the legal gambling casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Las Vegas. It had also invest many of its illegal gains into legitimate businesses and among politicians.

During The Great Sleep, this criminal group had to rebuild. Many of its members were able to start new lives, and end their lives of crime. While some of these people were hunted down and killed, many did not have to suffer the punishment of leaving their 'family' and the Maggia as a whole. It took centuries in this new world, with the peaceful Neo-Queen Serenity, to rebuild and recruit new members. While gambling had lost its appeal, and politics were eradicated by the rising of the new leader, narcotics took incredible precedence. Naturally the Maggia began to use this to their advantage. Being a leading producer and seller of drugs they were able to rebound.

Someone had come to the Crystal Palace to be cleansed. Afterwards, they felt the need to give their incredible information to Neo Queen Serenity and her Sailor Warriors. Count Nefaria would be traveling to Italy to visit his daughter, Madam Masque, in Southern Europe. While the Maggia was separated into groups, or families, to run their business, these two people were the creators and main leaders of the crime group. Upon hearing the news, Neo Queen Serenity and her Sailor Warriors knew they couldn't pass this opportunity up.

Sailor Mercury remained in Crystal Tokyo to tend the hospital she built, and Sailor Mars had her duties to the Hikawa Shrine. Jupiter, Venus, and the younger Sailors remained to protect the Palace, Neo Queen Serenity, and King Endymion. This meant Hybrid, Sailor Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn would travel to Southern Europe and meet the crime lords by surprise. Killing had been forbidden in this new world, so they planned to exhaust them and their defenses, and bring them to the Crystal Palace to be cleansed.

Hybrid kissed his wife and daughter goodbye, and the Sailors gave their respectable salutations. Those remaining wished them good luck, and the team of fighters went to the teleporter with Sailor Ceres. Sailor Mercury had become too busy with her work, and relinquished her duties of the super computer, respectable named Crystal, to the responsible young Sailor.

They all stood in the middle of the platform, while Ceres put the appropriate coordinates into the super computer. Soon they were surrounded by the bright lights of the device, and pulled through time and space until they landed on European ground.

Sailor Uranus held her lovers hand and her Space Sword in the other. Neptune also held her Deep Aqua Mirror, and Saturn carried her silence glaive. Hybrid was in his Earth Protector Armour. He checked the map hologram brought up on his communicator and then waved the Sailors forth.

It was night time. The dark streets of the old city gave an eerie ambiance as they made their way to the old castle where the Maggia leaders were supposed to be. Assuming their informative's information had been correct, Count Nefaria had already arrived. They hoped that he and his daughter were asleep, but they knew it was a futile hope. Most crime lords worked at night, they had discovered this with earlier battles against gangs, and other crime groups. They were likely awake, and perhaps planning their next strategy.

The four of them reached the castle. It was over grown with trees and bushes, making it easy to hide from any guards that could be standing around. They crouched low beneath the shrubbery, and Hybrid pointed them to take positions around the grounds. Neptune and Uranus released hands and went to their designated spots.

After a few minutes when he was sure that the others would be in their correct positions, Hybrid whispered into his communicator attached to his wrist. He kept his voice quiet so that it couldn't be heard except by the Sailors that held their own receiving end of their communicators to their ears. It was the latest design by Sailor Mercury, using the model that the United States Secret Service and various undercover police divisions had employed in the era before the Great Sleep. Unlike older models, these communicators didn't require the telltale coiled wire that was often visible as it ran down from the person's ear to their shirt collar.

"Everyone in position?" Hybrid quietly asked.

"Sailors Neptune and Uranus in position."

"Sailor Saturn in position."

"Copy that. Hybrid in position as well. Saturn, do you have a visual?"

"Not yet, give me one minute to scan the area."

Sailor Saturn lowered her arm and panned her eyes across the area in front of her. There was no movement or any voices that would suggest that anyone was in her immediate area. She slowly lifted her body and left her spot to further scope out the area. Her small body frame and weight made her quiet enough as she moved across the terrain so that she wouldn't immediately be noticed by anyone who may be outside the castle or seen from any of the sentries that were patrolling the high outer walls. Her main personal weapon, the silence glaive, shined brightly in the full moon's light; but her swift movements and short dark hair made her nearly impossible to be clearly recognized or tracked.

She moved speedily around her designated area, looking for any possible obstacles that would complicate their mission. The front of the castle was surrounded by over grown foliage and had some steep inclines that would slow down any ascent they made when it was time to storm the castle. It was clear that the current occupants of the castle had not been taking care of it and were instead letting Mother Nature have her way with the ancient dwelling. Even the stone walk way that led to the castle's main entrance was covered by the botanical overgrowth.

After a quick but through sweep, she became satisfied that there was no one to worry about yet. She quickly moved up one of the natural inclines to the side of building, pressing her slender back against the stone wall and ivy. She paused for a second or two to make sure that no alarms were being set off by someone that had seen her approach. Hearing no shouts or rapidly moving individuals, she side stepped along the wall until she reached the corner of the grounds behind the castle. She peered around the corner, keeping her silence glaive on the opposite side of the corner so its sheen blade couldn't be seen.

Two men were sitting down on a pair of wooden boxes in the back courtyard. They were chatting too each other idly as they cleaned their handguns.. Every so often one or both of them would look up and scan the grounds around them. For guards, meant to keep post and alert others of intruders, they weren't very professional. Sailor Saturn laughed silently, thugs and criminals weren't nearly as smart as they made themselves out to be. During her time as a guardian of Crystal Tokyo and later on, the planet Earth, she had had several encounters with former mercenaries and assassins that tried to resume those previous professions in the world following the Great Sleep. While these two guys were dressed in professional looking suits, they weren't even close to being considered 'professional' and that made her relax ever so slightly. She noticed that the fabric of their outfits looked loose and worn, giving her the notion that they were amateurs and not successful or experienced. Ambushing them would be an easy task. All she had to do was just plan it out right.

She pulled her head back around the corner and lifted her arm. She whispered into her communicator, alerting the others.

"We have two guards in the back courtyard. Sailors Neptune and Uranus, you are clear to proceed."

Sailors Uranus and Neptune quickly made their way to other side of the building. They took special care to make sure that there were no other 'guards' there to catch them that Sailor Saturn may have missed during her sweep. They reached the opposite corner of the building from Sailor Saturn. Hybrid, in turn, appeared at the young black haired sailor's side, having heard the latest update

They all waited several minutes as they watched the men continue to clean their guns and talk about nothing specific. Eventually Hybrid was able to get their movement patterns down and decide on an appropriate moment to strike. When he saw the guards lower their heads to focus on their weapons, he whispered the 'charge' word into his communicator, which alerted Sailor Neptune and Uranus to make their move.

Hybrid was the first to step out into the open grounds. He moved quickly at them, not verbally announcing his approach. The two guards saw the movement and it took them a second or two to comprehend the armoured man charging at them. They immediately raised their guns out of instinct to which Hybrid shot a pair of red tendrils at. The ends of the tendrils whipped upwards and slapped their guns from their hands. Stunned at the sudden removal of their weapons, the two men were easy pickings for him as he knocked them out with a pair of cross punches.

From a building behind Hybrid, that appeared empty, a pair of guards unexpectedly emerged. Apparently the Sailors and Hybrid has chosen the time of a shift change between guards to make their presence known. The new arrivals lifted their guns and pointed them directly at the armoured man standing over their comrades.

"Submarine Reflection!" Sailor Neptune shouted. She held the Deep Aqua Mirror out in front of her and sent a beam of light from its silvery glass surface toward her targets. They would have been thrown back had Sailor Saturn not been there to trip them backwards as the energy blast struck them, directing their bodies downward rather than horizontal through the air. .

When the energy attack from her lover subsided, Sailor Uranus rushed forth with her space sword firmly in hand. She grabbed the man that was the most conscious with her strong muscular left arm and pulled him up to his feet with ease. She held the blade of her sword against the man's throat as she pinned him up against the side of the building they had just exited.

"Where are Count Nefaria and Madam Masque?" She demanded, pressing the blade slightly harder against the man's neck. He seized and shivered against her hand, trying to force his way out of the tight hold around his throat.

"Don't tell them anything!" His partner weakly ordered from his position still on the ground. Sailor Saturn held the twin blades of her weapon down at him, keeping him in place. The man gave her a serious glance, locking eyes with the baby-faced warrior.

"Tell us everything," Sailor Uranus growled, making it clear that she wasn't to be toyed with.

Without warning, the back doors off to their side were thrown open. A group of men came bursting out. They must have heard Sailor Neptune's attack or the conversation that carried on the calm deathly quiet night air. They were all dressed in worn suits like their comrades and seemed rather physically fit, much like guards of crime should look. Four of them wielded blades of various sizes and immediately threw themselves into battle stances. Three of them broke away after a few seconds and rushed toward Sailor Neptune. The other one violently moved towards, and began to slash, at the Sailor Uranus who was still holding the man.

Hybrid sent out a tendril to attempt to take the short sword away from the attacker, allowing Sailor Uranus to continue her interrogation. The man, to his credit had some skill with a sword and was able to parry Hybrid's attack and return with one of his own. The razor-sharp blade cut through the stalk of the tendril with relatively ease.

The sheer cut sent Hybrid mentally screaming as his years of discipline and strong will kept him from verbally shouting out loud. He quickly hopped back and away from the man. For a brief moment, he became distracted as the symbiote echoed its pain inside his head. He was relieved and was able to refocus when he saw the symbiote begin to quickly repair itself by creating new tissue to replace what had been lost.

The man with the sword was running towards him, hoping to capitalize on the brief opening he had created. Hybrid saw his approach and acted quickly. He reached across his body and unsheathed the Sword of Gaia; the honorable gift he received from King Endyimon when he became king's choice to take his title as the protector of Earth. He lifted the sword and used it to block the attack from the man and then parried out of the way as he aimed for an attack of his own.

The other three men with swords were quickly shortening the space between them and Sailor Neptune.

"Submarine Violin Tide," she screamed just before they could reach her. Using the water molecules in the air around her, she created a violin in much the same way Sailor Mercury created a harp for one of her attacks. Taking hold of the magical construct, she played a few powerful chords and a wave of blue water like energy slammed into them. The energy tide pushed them back and caused them to crash down onto their backs with a hard thud. She took the opportunity to step back a few paces to give herself more time in case she needed another attack.

Sailor Uranus had let go of the guard when Hybrid's tendril was cut. She immediately rushed towards the three men rushing to her lover, knowing that Hybrid could easily handle the lone man by himself. Sailor Saturn still had the one man under her control, down on the ground which made Sailor Neptune's situation more in need of her assistance. She saw her lover create the violin and was able to dodge the powerful attack when it was launched. She watched the men fall and prepared herself into a battle stance, ready to stop them should they get back up and try to attack her or her lover again.

While all this was going on, the last two men of the group that had burst through the doors held up a couple of shining metal hand guns. It was so hard to find guns in the new world, since they had been outlawed and Sailor Uranus and Neptune had spent centuries destroying them and weapons like them. From her position across the courtyard, Sailor Saturn's eyes widened at the sight of them.

The two men quickly aimed the deadly weapons at Sailor Uranus and Hybrid respectively, considering them to be the two biggest threats. Sailor Saturn was smaller, so of course she wasn't immediately noticed, and she was thankful for this fact in the moment.

"Silent Wall!" She shrieked as she abandoned her prisoner and rushed towards her two team mates. At the last second, she slammed the hilt of her Silence Glaive into the ground as purple and white lightning crackled between the twin blades of her weapons. The sounds of gunshots filled the air, one right after another in rapid succession. The purple translucent wall shot up just in time, blocking the small metal projectiles from hitting their targets.

The bullets hit, making large purple lightening streaks ripple across the energy wall's surface. The tiny metal pieces that weren't immediately vapourized hovered against the wall for a moment as they lost their forward kinetic momentum. When the last bullet was fired and rendered useless as it stuck the protective barrier, Sailor Saturn let out a sigh before letting her defensive wall drop. She was pleased that she had been able to stop her friends from being shot.

With the sudden danger passed, she turned back around and rushed forth to grab the two guards they had just neutralized before the arrival of the reinforcements. They were on the ground looking fervently for their lost guns. She silently hit them with the staff of her silence glaive, drawing on the bo staff training she was learning from a martial arts master in her spare time. It sent both of them down to the ground as their heads snapped to the sides. To any other onlookers, it would appear as if they had died on the spot, falling to the ground. Instead they were just rendered unconscious and would not wake up for at least a few hours.

"How dare you!" Sailor Uranus shouted, not worrying about concealment any longer. She turned towards the pair of men that had just tried to shoot her. Rage filled the brawny Sailor and she rushed forward shouting a war cry at the top of her lungs. The look of fear on both of the men's faces was clear as they stood frozen in place. One of the men had the idiotic idea to throw his gun at her, hoping to hit her. She instead hit him with the butt of her sword, effectively knocking him out before backhanding the other one across the jaw.

A short distance away, the three swordsmen were back to their feet and rushing towards Sailor Neptune again. This filled Sailor Uranus with even more rage as she saw their approach out of the corner of her eye as she finished with the two would-be snipers. She turned her body and ran towards them.

With her speed, both natural and sailor-enhanced, she was able to catch up to them before they got too close to the aquamarine coloured sailor. She grabbed one by his sword arm and threw him across the grounds using her augmented physical strength. His sword quickly flew in the opposite direction as his body bounced off the ground when he landed. Without hesitation, she grabbed the other man and landed a hard punch into the side of his face. The last of the trio had become aware of his two companions sudden disappearance and stopped to find out why. Sailor Uranus' rage was boiling over. She reached out with her Space Sword and slashed this way and that, effectively creating shallow cuts against his skin and tired clothing. The wounds were not deep enough to cause serious injury but the sudden shock of her barrage caused the man to succumb to his fear of her and collapsed at her feet.

Sailor Saturn rushed towards the cowardly man strewn across the ground. She expertly struck the side of his head with the shaft of her staff making sure he wouldn't rise again. The sounds of battle continued behind her and she turned to see Hybrid still sword fighting with the other swordsman. He lunged, parried, and dashed, his long board sword creating small shallow cuts to weaken him. The man lunged forward aiming to stab Hybrid in the gut, but the red and black armoured man was too fast. He was already at the man's side and hit his head with the flat of his sword's blade. The man instantly went down, his face scrunched in agony. He wouldn't rise again for a long time.

Hybrid, Sailor Saturn, and Sailor Neptune all stood in their respective spot looking at Sailor Uranus. The short haired masculine woman was punching the last standing guard. His sword was on the ground beside them, and she was landing blow after blow. The rage coursed through her, giving strength and ferocity to each punch.

"Don't kill him!" Sailor Neptune shouted. She knew her lover almost as well as she knew herself. It wasn't unlike her to get a bit carried away during a battle.

"I won't," Sailor Uranus called back. She grabbed the man by the collar and pulled him off his feet. The man was still conscious, but just barely. His face was starting to swell up and Hybrid would have been surprised if he could still see out of his eyes in a few minutes. She pulled him to her face, a wild grimace painted across it.

"You'll be a good boy, right?" She said mockingly, glaring the man directly in the eyes. She held up her Space Sword, letting him catch a glimpse of its metal surface, shining in the moonlight. Its edge was slightly painted in red blood. It was the blood of his comrade but not enough to claim that he had been mortally damaged by the attack.

"Take me to your leaders!" She spat, her mouth widening even more to give a goofy grin. She had heard that phrase used in silly science movies of old.

Sailor Neptune, Hybrid, and Sailor Saturn had a hard time concealing their own laughs. They felt a rush of silly relief as they realized their first battle of this mission was now over. Even if Sailor Uranus was being a bit crazy, there was always a point to her madness.

The man furrowed his brows, a little baffled by the odd selection of words. It had been a long time since he had heard them and he had never expected them to ever be directed at him. He tried to struggle and force his way out of her grasp. His feet kicked uselessly in the air, inches from the ground.

"Upstairs, in the drawing room. That is… if they haven't left yet." He said, realizing that there was nothing he could do and thus, gave into defeat.

Sailor Uranus lifted her sword again and quickly hit him in the side of the head. The crushing blow made him grunt with agony. She let him go and dropped his body to the ground where it crumbled like a collapsing brick wall.

"That'll teach you to shoot at me and attack my girlfriend," she sneered. The others were still looking at her, clearing a bit dumbfounded by her behavior. She turned her head to regard them and gave an innocent grin and shrugged, showing that she didn't think she had done anything wrong. After all, she didn't kill him, and she got the information they needed.

The group of fearsome warriors made their way into the castle. It was so huge even their quietest footsteps on the stone floors seemed to echo and bounce off the high ceilings and walls. They came to the main hall, where a large stair case opened up to the top floor. They made their way up the steps side by side and ready to move if they found themselves under attack. Hybrid hadn't sheathed his sword yet and held it out in front of him matching the stances of the others with their weapons. They were clearly a force to be reckoned with.

When they reached the top of the staircase, they split up into two groups. One pair would go left while the other would go right. Slowly and with expertise, they began looking around the second floor. Only recently had they been exploring ancient castles and ruined forts as part of their campaign to root out and eliminate the large criminal organizations that their Queen had targeted. It had been her mandate following the attack by Norman Osborn and his minions to take proactive action against these groups before they become a threat like he did. As they quickly found out, many of their targets liked to take up residence in structures such as this that had survived the passage of time.

Until the start of this global operation, they had only ever been in the Crystal Palace, and even then they didn't get to roam around freely as per the magical wards that Neo-Queen Serenity had put in place to restrict a visitor's movements. As a result, none of them really knew the natural layout of a castle, other than perhaps Hybrid from his days working with the Illuminati Council.

Most of the doors were open, and the ones that were closed they pressed their ears against to see if they could hear any chattering from the father-daughter crime lords or more of their lackeys. Sailor Neptune came across another closed door and used her Deep Aqua Mirror to cast her Submarine Reflection spell. This particular ability of the mirror had multiple uses. It could be used as an attack, like in the earlier battle, it could be used to determine an enemy's weakness, or it could be used to see through certain objects or obstacles. This was an easier and safer way to look through the door, and it was unfortunate she was the only one with that power.

The Deep Aqua Mirror showed two figures, an older man and a young feminine figure with a golden mask.

"Bingo!" She mentally said to herself. She silently signaled to her partner, Sailor Uranus that this was the room they were looking for. She gave a low tap of her boot against the hardwood floor to get the other warriors' attentions. In the dead quiet of the castle, the light sound carried down the empty hallways. A few minutes past before Hybrid and Sailor Saturn appeared around the corner and silently but quickly moved to join up with Sailor Neptune and Uranus. When they were positioned around the door, Sailor Uranus stepped forth and stood in front of it. With a powerful kick, she struck the door, throwing it off its hinges and across the room.

Count Nefaria was an older man, physically looking to be in his late sixties. He clearly looked to be of Italian descent as his skin had an olive shade to it. He clutched his chest at the sudden surprise of the crashing door as it landed a short distance away from him.

"Who are you?" Madam Masque demanded, rushing around the small table to stand in front of her father. She was a shapely young woman, in a full suit of silver and dark blue colored armor. She wore a golden mask but her dark piercing eyes gave way to her irritation. It was said that she had been disfigured long before the Great Sleep and wore the mask to hide her scars. The golden mask gave her a fierce and deadly appearance, making it obvious why she was feared as one of the Maggia's leaders.

"We're here to bring you to Neo-Queen Serenity to be judged for your crimes," Hybrid said, stepping forth, into the room. He gave a voice of authority, his words bouncing across the room.

Suddenly and without warning, a swirling black hole formed behind the two crime lords. It was circular in shape, and the different shades of black danced in a spiral pattern.

Count Nefaria gave a wide grin, giving way to his pride. He jumped back and threw himself in the portal. Hybrid immediately recognized what it was due to his past battles against evil magical users and other outer world enemies. He rushed forward, hoping to intercept the only target still left.

Madam Masque gave a cruel laugh, and moved to step into the portal. Before she disappeared, she quickly said, "You're too late!" Then the black swirling hole engulfed her, and she was gone.

Sailors Neptune and Saturn stopped in their tracks. Hybrid slammed on the brakes and stumbled to a stop, nearing tripping over a large arm chair. He stared dumbfounded at the black portal, which was slowly beginning to shrink.

Sailor Uranus rushed forward, but Sailors Saturn and Neptune moved to grab her arms and pull her back. "No!" They both shouted in unison.

"We don't know where the portal leads," Hybrid shouted, snapping back to the task at hand. He moved behind Sailor Uranus and wrapped his arms around Uranus' waist, forcing her to stop struggling.

"We need to follow them!" Sailor Uranus yelled, trying to twist free of her teammates' grip and force her friends to release her.

"We can't!" Hybrid said sternly.

"He's right, Uranus. We don't know where the portal goes." Sailor Neptune said in a sweet but stern voice, hoping her lover would see reason.

Sailor Uranus finally relented and stopped struggling. She gave a frustrated sigh. The portal was so much smaller now that she doubted she'd be able to make it through in time. She knew the others were right, but she hated that their enemies had made such a quick escape.

Hybrid, Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune, and Sailor Saturn returned to the Crystal Palace. They took a moment to stand on the transporter and regain their balance from the awkward journey. The eight men that had been knocked out were at their feet, laying silently when they arrived. Sailor Ceres stood by the super computer, making sure that their arrival had gone well before she left it in its idle mode. Across the room, a large pile of weapons and contraband material were situated. They had come through the transporter ahead of the Sailors and their prisoners so that Sailor Mars could destroy them and prevent them from finding their way back into the Maggia or other criminal's hands.

As she watched the returning group gather their captured enemies and escort them out of the room, Sailor Ceres's mind wandered back to what had occurred about an hour ago. She had been monitoring the Crystal super computer in the adjacent room as she waited to hear back from Hybrid and the others. During the time the warriors were gone, a strange rise in energy had shown up on the screen, alerting her of the strangeness of such an event. It showed that it had happened somewhere in central Canada. She didn't feel the need to say anything until she knew more. Perhaps it wasn't as important as she initially thought. She would at least inform Sailor Mercury of the odd occurrence, the older and wiser Sailor might have something to say.

She smiled consolingly as the group gathered their things and assisted the guards present with the prisoners. Sailor Jupiter burst into the room, followed by some additional Crystal Guards. She moved through the small crowd of people onto the teleporter platform and landed a firm kiss on Hybrid's lips. They embraced and gave each other a warm smile when the kiss ended.

She leaned down and picked up one of the sleeping men. She slung the man's arm over her shoulder and then moved to leave the room. The Crystal Guards followed her lead, picking up the rest of the incapacitated men and leaving behind her. Sailor Saturn turned and followed them out of the room.

Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Saturn, and the Crystal Guards were taking the criminals to the throne room located in the center of the Crystal Palace. Neo-Queen Serenity had ordered that any captured men be immediately brought before her when Hybrid and the other returned. As per the usual protocol, they would lay the men or women before Neo-Queen Serenity, and Sailor Saturn would wake them with a small prick of her twin blades. The guards often left at that point or took positions at the main entrance to the grand chamber.

Sailor Earth, Hybrid and Jupiter's daughter: Tera, was usually present as she was Sailor Jupiter's protégé. Once the men were awake, Neo-Queen Serenity would pass gentle judgment on them. She would reprimand them for their past crimes and then summon the Silver Moon Crystal from its resting place in the Chamber of Prayer before surrounding them in its purifying light..

Sometimes, Hybrid would be able to join them, so he could be cleansed with his family and criminals, killing two birds with one stone in a sense. It had been decreed, since his old identity of Carnage had nearly destroyed Crystal Tokyo, that he and his family would be cleansed regularly to keep the evil part of his and his daughter's symbiotes at bay. However, he was usually present, because he was often the leader of the missions assigned by the royal rulers, he almost always had to stand before them and give them the details of the events. A notes keeper would sometimes be present to write it down for the historical records and public archives.

On this particular occasion, Sailors Neptune and Uranus were accompanying Hybrid. Both of them had strapped four of the mechanical weapons to their hips, so they could personally destroy them in the armory with Sailor Mars after their debriefing with King Endymion and Neo-Queen Serenity. Hybrid could see their impatience and began to lead them up the stairs so they could enter the great hall.

As he walked by, he saw Sailor Mercury as she checked out one of the Palace servants who looked like they were complaining of a cough. A small smile appeared on his face as she took notice of him, a simple gesture of saying hello to a good friend. She gave a weak smile in reply and then turned back to the young servant girl.

"Is everything alright?" He asked, ushering the two Sailors to keep up with him. They stopped briefly to say hello to Sailor Mercury.

"Everything's fine. There is just a minor bit of the flu virus going around. If everyone just keeps their hands clean and take the proper precautions, I am sure it won't be anything to worry about," she replied. They could tell that her intellectual side had taken over from her usual sweet tone of voice.

"Are you sure? Is there anything we can do?" Hybrid implored.

"Don't worry about it," she flashed him another weak smile before returning to her work. She turned back to the young servant girl. "King Endymion should be expecting you." She said without breaking her focus. Sailor Ceres appeared behind him, clearly wanting to speak to Sailor Mercury. He gave her a smile but decided to follow his duties rather than stay behind and hear what the young sailor had to say.

Hybrid nodded, and turned back to the exit. He and the two Sailor Warriors made their way up the winding steps and through the large corridors until they came to the Great Hall. King Endymion was talking to their royal notes keeper with a pleasant grin. He turned to greet the battle group, who knelt at their feet to show their respects. King Endymion made it clear that he was pleased, told the note keeper to sit at one of the tables and write down the information they were about to hear.

Hybrid explained in full detail how they arrived at the castle and each took sides of the building to ambush the two guards. He explained their fierce battle with a number of guards that arrived, and how Sailor Uranus had forced one of them to talk. They successfully were able to bring all eight guards back to be cleansed, but when they finally encountered the Maggia leaders, they were too late. They had jumped through a portal before they could defeat them and bring them back for their own cleansing.

"It grieves me to tell you this, my king," he said completely forlorn, "but Count Nefaria and Madame Masque did manage to escape us. I believe what they went through was a portal of sorts, and we decided it was best not to follow them."

King Endymion looked upon the warriors with great pride and a kind smile. "Don't be so hard on yourselves. You managed to bring back eight criminals, and you returned safely and unharmed. We will worry about Count Nefaria and Madame Masque later. For now you may return home."

Hybrid gave a quick bow and then hurried off to the throne room. The meeting had gone quickly, and he hoped to arrive just at the end of Neo-Queen Serenity's judgments. Sailor Uranus and Neptune remained before King Endymion bowing low before him.

"If you will, we would like to go to armory and destroy the guns we confiscated" Sailor Neptune said.

"Of course," Endymion said, waving a gentle arm so they could take their leave. He watched as they left the Great Hall, the four weapons tied to their waist. That would be the last he saw of the guns until more were confiscated.

Several months had passed since the original Sailors and Hybrid had been captured by the Sinister Seven, and saved by the Second Generation Sailors: Sailor Moon, Sailor Earth, and the Sailor Quartet. After they had returned home they each vowed to no longer skimp on their duties and work harder to capture any criminals for Silver Moon Crystal cleansings and destroy any and all weapons they found. Things had gone well so far and the reign of peace across the planet seemed to be strengthening.

The entire world seemed to be doing well, and Crystal Tokyo continued to flourish. Sailors Mercury, Mars, and Venus continued to do their appointed works at the hospital, temple, and community center. Sailors Neptune and Uranus planned to marry in the following year, and when they weren't doing missions as part of a battle group, they resumed their tours around the world with their piano and violin duet.

In the wake of the events following Norman Osborn's attack, Sailor Jupiter had been promoted to the head of the Crystal Guard. She had deputized Sailor Saturn to assist her in training the soldiers under her command. When she wasn't working, and Hybrid wasn't leading an operation, the young married couple enjoyed their loving and peaceful time at home. Sailor Earth, also known as Tera, enjoyed spending quality time with her parents and often remained home with them. Sailor Jupiter, Hybrid, and Saturn trained the younger generation regularly. Since the attack of the Sinister Seven, the younger sailors now knew how important their training and improving their skills and powers were to any future battles to come.

Sailor Moon, also known as the young Princess Usagi, spent a lot of her time in the Crystal Palace with her parents. If they were busy with royal duties, she enjoyed the regular training and spending time with her friends, the second generation Sailors and Sailor Saturn. Sailor Ceres, when she wasn't training or enjoying the comfort of her friends, spent a lot of time studying and attending classes. She had a knack for technology and would often monitor the crystal super computer when Sailor Mercury was busy with her various duties.

Education became so easily gained that Sailor Ceres overloaded her free schedule with classes. Her sister, Sailor Pallas was very much the same. The young blue haired sailor had gotten into her young education classes, and hoped to open up a daycare when she became certified. Sailor Juno and Vesta were thick as thieves in their own right. They spent almost all of their free time training, even if it meant going off to the woods by themselves.

Things in Crystal Tokyo were wonderful! Neo-Queen Serenity and her husband King Endymion were very pleased to see how fantastically things seemed to be progressing. The Sailors had fulfilling lives, with strong bonds of friendship with each other, and grand ways to put their unique skills to use. They were prepared for whatever would come, though they hoped another long reign of peace would last.

**End of Chapter 2**


	4. New World, New Friends

**Chapter 3**

When the portal finally disappeared, Iris collapsed onto the mound of overgrown grass that surrounded her. It was night and the full moon shone brightly above her, illuminating the area around her in a slow glow. She began to sob, her grief coiling through her body like an angry snake. She curled up in a ball, ignoring the sharp pains that she felt. Her ribs were likely broken from her violent meeting with the wall and her jaw still gave dull pangs of discomfort whenever she opened her mouth to breath. Those things she could live with; they would heal given enough time. The thing that ripped at her soul was the reality that Ann was dead. She had failed to protect the young girl and fulfill her promise to bring her back home safe. She buried her face deeper into her fetal position on the lush ground and continued to cry until she passed out from exhaustion.

The hours ticked by and Iris remained on the ground. Her breathing was slow and shallow and every so often she would sob in her sleep. If she was ever conscious during that time, it went by unnoticed. She was still hurt too much physically to stand and her internal grief made her incapable of focusing. She had cast a healing spell on herself a short while ago to mend her ribs; but her lack of physical strength and mental disarray had limited its effectiveness. She could feel it slowly rebuilding her bones as the pain in her ribs was noticeably becoming less and less every time she breathed. The resetting of each rib bone had caused her to wake into a restless state of delirium before she passed out again.

When she fully came to, her ribs felt better and she was unable to cry anymore. She stood up and, for the first time since her arrival, she took a good hard look around her. She glanced up at the bright sunny sky above her. Judging from the sun's position, it had to be about noon. The sun was hung high in the sky and beat down harshly upon her back. She could feel its hot rays and as she looked down at her arms, she could see the beginnings of a tan forming. That was something she hadn't seen in a very long time after being trapped in the perpetual night of Negonall. She lifted her head and scanned the area again. There were no signs or buildings around her and no landmarks that she recognized. She hoped that she was indeed on Earth and not some other dimension or planet that was similar to it. She had to try and find someone, anyone, and find out where she actually was. And perhaps she could find or, if need be, steal some clothes to replace the ragged dress that barely clung to her body.

She picked a direction and began to walk aimlessly for what seemed like an hour. Her tired bare feet and grief-stricken body felt that they were being pushed by the small motivation inside her to survive. She still wasn't quite sure where she was. The grassy fields around her were overgrown and she moved through acres of thick groves of trees. She tried to think of all the wild lands and land preservations she could recall from before she had been kidnapped, as well as her schooling in world geography and the different climates of Earth. She racked her brain for any memory or bit of knowledge that could give her a clue as to where she could possibly be; but all she could remember clearly was Negonall and her years of servitude. She continued to move, hoping she would find some form of civilization eventually.

A short time later, there was a break in the underbrush which opened up to a large open area. Iris stopped at the edge of the clearing and took in the scene before her. Up ahead she saw a queer and unexpected site. Old ruined walls and an old tar street painted the earthly canvas. The street was overgrown with weeds, grasses, and brush growing wild through the little bit of asphalt that was left. It looked like this street had been abandoned and not maintained for decades. It wasn't until she came closer she was able to see the grey of the ancient road and the faintest outline of the yellow paint that had once been used to mark it.

She slowly walked up to the nearest wall. From where she stood, as she looked around, many of the brick walls were crumbling and dilapidated. She ran her hand across the wall next to her. The brick quickly turned to dust and fell around her as the gentle breeze caught the tiny particles and swirled them around. The sudden shock of the cloud of red dust forced her to inhale causing her to cough and choke as her lungs and throat were quickly coated in the stone powder. She moved away from the wall, still coughing and spitting the residue from her mouth and lungs, gasping for air in between. She thought she would begin sobbing again as she choked for air, but she found that forming tears was difficult in her dehydrated state.

She needed to find a water source and soon or else not even her magical abilities would be able to keep her alive and moving. When her coughing lessened, and she felt the clean air re-enter her lungs at last, she wiped the remaining dust from her face and stood up. She needed to keep moving and hopefully find some help before nightfall.

She tilted her head upward and bit her lower lip. The sun was already ducking down beneath the forests and mountains and the moon was beginning to shine brightly overhead in the twilight that the two forces created. It would be dangerous to be caught out in the open and she couldn't risk falling and getting hurt by some unseen natural hazard. She sighed as she looked around at the collection of crumbling walls around her and made a decision. She was going to stay here since this was the only semblance of shelter she had seen all day. What was left of the walls seemed to be able to hold back the light wind that was present and the air felt warm enough that she was pretty sure she wouldn't freeze during the night. She looked around at the ground around her and settled on a patch of thick grass that looked the most comfortable. She wearily cast a spell to hide her location and, in seemingly no time at all, she was once again fast asleep as her body gave in to its exhaustion.

When she awoke the next morning, she slowly sat up and stretched her achy arms and back. She let loose a wide yawn as her eyes struggled to adjust to the bright sunshine that greeted them. She walked out from her spot behind the crumbling wall and took in her surroundings in the new light. To her left a picturesque view of mountains could be seen. Its grey stone formations glared at her under the high sun. She caught her breath and stared at it for several minutes. They looked familiar to her but she couldn't place where or when she had seen them before. Her mind began racing with memories of the scene. She was sure she had seen those rocky formations before, as they looked very much like the ones from her childhood. She could remember staring at a mountain just like that from her bedroom window as a child and young teenager.

She rushed down what was left of the bitter and broken street and found a couple more brick walls to her left. She wandered around them until she reached the rundown brick wall in the back. It had crumpled mostly to dust; but the top of it, reaching just to her face, showed the outline of what was the bottom of a window. Along the outside, irises of several colors bloomed and were overgrown. She fell to her knees, grabbing a blue iris in her hand and pulling it to her face. She inhaled the delicate floral scent and tears began to form in her eyes despite her current physical state.

When she was born, her mother's favourite flower was the iris and she had always wanted to name her future daughter after them. When she brought her baby daughter home from the hospital, she planted a patch of irises outside the nursery and eventually Iris' window as she grew up. They had grown healthily, covering the entire back of the house. When she grew older, she and her mother would prune the beautiful garden of blue, purple, yellow, and red flowers. She and her younger brother would often play near them in the backyard but were careful not to step on the delicate flowers. She smiled as she remembered the silly games they used to play. Usually some adventurous game of pretend where they battled demons or monsters, and they practiced the Latin language they learned from their father before he died.

She looked back at what was left of the wall beside her. Could this have been her home? There was no way of knowing for sure as there wasn't much left of it. The only thing was the patch of irises at her feet but these were considered wild flowers which grew in thousands of places across the northern hemisphere of Earth. It could be a coincidence that these flowers were planted where they were. She shook her head to try to clear the notion the portal had dropped her where it did and that she had somehow accidently stumbled upon her house. She had given up on the idea of miracles and divine intervention long ago.

She knelt down in overgrown irises and delicately placed a hand on the brick wall. She smiled and gave in to her heart's desire. Even though, there was no proof that this had once been her house, she was going to pretend that it was to keep the small well strength within her. She looked up from her hand on the wall to what was left of the window above it. This wall had once been the outside to her room, making up part of the back of the house. She remembered sneaking out her window in the night when she was a teenager to see a young boy named David Rossi, before she was kidnapped. Her face blushed briefly as an image of the young man appeared in her mind with his short black hair and a strong muscular body. A small smile appeared on her lips before she remembered what happened the next day. That was the day that she and her friend left on their trip to Europe and she had been captured and eventually taken to Negonall.

Her heart pounded, and another bought of sobs and cries broke its way out of her throat. Her hand pressed against the wall harder, forcing it to collapse and crumble into the fine red and grey dust all around her, covering herself and the wild flowers in a thick coat of red and grey powder.

"Mommy… Sean," she screeched between sobs. It had become painfully obvious that more than a few years had passed, decades even. There was no way her mother and brother could still be alive, she told herself. Her body crumpled forward as a fit of intense and crazed crying wracked her entire body. She fell into the irises, using their scent and large overgrown soft petals as comfort. The grey and red dust that puffed up with her sudden collapse to the ground surrounded her as it settled back down to the ground and her mournful cries filled the air.

Eventually, her tears stopped and she wiped her face and running nose on the hem of her ragged dress. She had to find help and keep moving. If she stayed in one place to long, she feared Latice or that old Asian man who killed Ann would find her and take her back. Even with her protection spell, they could find her and she would rather die than go back to Negonall and resume her life of torture and humiliation.

She weakly rose to her feet and moved away from the irises and wall. She walked around to the front of the building and continued to walk in the direction she had originally been heading. Her body was exhausted from the turmoil of the past two days and the lack of food and water were really beginning to take their toll on her. She had been using minor survival spells to mask the hunger and thirst pangs from her body in between the rare times she had managed to find some wild berries that would temporarily quench her dehydration. In her tired mental state, several questions danced through her head as she continued to push her body forward.

Had decades really passed since she'd been gone? In some way, she felt like this idea had been based on what she was currently seeing around her, but she was pretty sure only a decade or two had passed in Negonall. Had she come back to Earth only to discover that the human race had ended? Was the old Asian man correct in his statement that she would have nothing to come back to?

No, that last question seemed ridiculous. There had to be people somewhere. She had dealt with several people from Earth during her time in the hell dimension. Granted, they weren't the sort of people that would help her, especially now, but their existence meant that humans were still around and that gave her hope. It was impossible that she was the only one on the planet. She had to keep moving and ignore the half of her that didn't want to keep going and wanted to lay down and just give up.

It was true that she didn't have much to offer; only her life and that didn't seem to be worth much anymore. However, it was all she had. She hoped that would be enough for the person or people that she came across, if she ever did. The thought that others might be around put her into autopilot and her feet continued to move even though she was unwilling to push them.

The hours continued to tick by. The mountain, her mountain, disappeared from sight after a long while. Her throat was becoming near desert-like and her face felt swollen from the tears and dry from the hours of being in the sun with no protection.

More time went by and her frustration levels were threatening to boil over. There had to be some form of civilization close by; she couldn't have been walking this much and not stumbled upon something now, a highway, a town, or even a farmhouse of some sort. The one saving grace was that she had come across a stream about an hour ago and used it to douse her face and calm the dryness in her throat. She didn't care if it made her sick or was filled with bacteria. She needed it and no one was going to stop her.

She had decided to follow the stream for a while using the old adage that people and animals liked to stay close to a water source. She had been right about the second part as she had seen some deer, squirrels, and even a large brown Grizzly bear with her cubs. That gave her reassurance that she was indeed back on Earth.

Eventually, the stream led her to another road. This one looked newly made with cement and cobble stone. There was no doubt in her mind that this had to lead to some people as it looked to be weed-free and well taken care of. She walked further and soon she could see a small town rising in the distance. It was small compared to the cities that she remembered and looked to be built out of a mixture of organic material and stone. The buildings weren't clustered tightly together and claustrophobic like the cities she had known from her youth, but each one was wide and spread out over the land as if it were a part of the natural growth.

When she reached the first set of buildings, she could see through one of the windows that they were freshly made with sanded wood and the stone blocks making up the exterior walls. It was nighttime again as the sun's light disappeared and the soft moonlight took its place. Ahead of her and down the street, the people of the small town seemed to be celebrating. Iris could see that they were drinking and feasting on foods from small stalls run by the happy merchants that worked there. The sweet aromas of the various cooking meats and soups made her taste buds and mouth water as her hunger kicked into high gear. She needed food very badly but she knew that she couldn't just barge in and start feasting. She wasn't a member of this town and she wasn't sure how they dealt with outsiders. She was far too weak to escape if they attempted to chase her away. She could only stand there and watch them for a few moments as her legs became frozen in place. What was she going to do?

"Hey," a voice said behind her. A man came walking up to her. He held leather reigns in his hands and was leading a horse into the city. Had she been gone so long that the world had simply started over? Was she now in some strange medieval world? Could the portal have transported back in time? She supposed anything was possible and, after all that she had seen in Negonall, she really shouldn't be all that surprised.

"You seem a bit disoriented, can I help you?" he said kindly, waving a hand in front of her face to get her attention.

"Uhm…" she faltered, "what year is it?" She felt ridiculous asking the cliché question, but it seemed like the most reasonable thing to ask.

"Ahh," he laughed, "it's been hard to keep track since The Great Sleep. We're in the third century of the Crystal Millennium now. I think it's about three hundred and twenty-two."

Iris' eyebrows furrowed and her jaw dropped in both surprise and confusion. Had she really been gone for three centuries?

The man looked at her expression with some puzzlement of his own. He was a large and jolly looking man, clearly in his fifties, but he had a youth about him she had never seen or, at least not in a long, long time. His hair was only just greying and there was a kindness in his eyes that, again, she hadn't seen for longer than she could remember.

"Are you alright? Did you just get out of a bunker or something?" He smiled at his question, but his pale blue eyes were full of concern and sympathy for the young girl standing before him.

Iris shook her head slowly, still not sure what to say. She kept her eyes low, unable to meet his. She suddenly felt very small and lost, even more so than she had since escaping Negonall two days ago. She was quickly realizing that she knew nothing of this new world or where to go.

"Come with me," he said gently putting an arm on her shoulder, "you look like you could use a good meal and…" He gestured to her ragged dress and bare feet, "maybe some new clothes. I'll tell you whatever you need to know." He moved his hand to the middle of her back. Iris instinctively flinched as the feeling triggered a natural response of fear and disgust inside her, drawing up dozens of memories of past "clients" doing the same thing. The man pulled his arm away with her reaction and looked at her with even more concern. He moved back to his spot in front of her and for the first time really looked at the young, frail-looking woman.

"What happened to you, Miss? Your jaw is bruised and your arms and legs are covered with cuts and scratches."

Iris remained silent as she internally fought with the memories that his questions had raised. The image of Ann lying dead on the stone street of Negonall flashed behind her eyes and it took everything she had left inside of her to not collapse into another crying spell at the man's feet.

The man must have sensed the despair and pain radiating out of her because he slowly moved up to her again and, in a fatherly manner, he put his arm around her again and began to slowly lead her through the wide street, his horse huffing behind them.

"They're having a celebration tonight, a monthly community event. I just got back from a delivery on the west side of Tkaronto, I'd rather go straight home as I have been travelling for three days straight. My wife and daughter should be back with some food," he said softy, hoping that his words would distract her from whatever was causing her such despair.

The mention of his daughter and the tone of his voice, the way it was filled with compassion and kindness, made Iris relax a little. It confirmed her feeling that he was indeed a father and the sensation of his arm around her made her recall past memories of her own father holding her in a similar manner when she was a little girl.

"So, are we in Ontario?" She asked meekly, tilting her head up to look at him as he broke his hold on her back so he could lead his horse into a small stall beside a small stone house.

The man chuckled a bit and shook his head a few times. He smiled, accompanying the look he gave her as he unsaddled the horse and closed the door behind it. The expression he was giving told her that she just asked a silly question. She felt more than a little embarrassed and tried to cover it up with a smile of her own.

"That's a name that I haven't heard in a very long time. How long have you been gone, Miss?"

"I… I am not really sure. I guess a long time by the sounds of it," Iris replied sheepishly.

"I would say so," the man said with a gentle warmness. He leaned against the side of the small horse barn and looked at her with his pale blue eyes.

"There is no more province of Ontario anymore; just the central region of the territory known as Canadonia. That in turn is part of the overall Crystal Kingdom." Seeing the confusion on Iris' face, the man sighed as he came to realize that he would need to go back even further.

"The Crystal Kingdom is the global organization that rules over much, if not all, of the Earth. Under the protection and love of its leaders, King Endyimon and Neo-Queen Serenity, the world has become a land of simplicity and peace. The stuff we used to dream of and wish for when most of us were growing up."

"We're in the town of Sand Hills. It looks small, but this only part of it. It spreads out for miles to the west. The western part of Sand Hills is just as a big. Most people joined one of the new towns of cities that began appearing after the Great Sleep, learning to continue flourishing in its natural state."

"The Great Sleep?" Iris asked.

"It's the term that most people use to describe the time when the Earth was frozen and we were all in crystal shells for nine centuries, following the global nuclear disaster," the man said.

Iris' expression of confusion and not understanding only grew with his statements. The man sighed again and rubbed his temples. This was going to take longer than he thought. He made sure that the latch on the door of the horse stall was secure and turned back to her, giving her a hearty laugh.

"I see I have a lot to tell you," he said as he walked up to her and put his hand on her back again. He coaxed her to walk with him as he led her into the house. "I'm Garin, by the way."

"Iris," she politely replied.

Garin showed her around the house, saying that most houses around here were set up in pretty much the same fashion. It wasn't large and luxurious, but just large enough for him and his family. The house had two bedrooms: one for him and his wife, and one for his daughter. There was a living room, a kitchen and a descent sized bath. The perfect home for a small family.

Garin told Iris, as they moved through the dwelling, that his wife worked at one of the restaurants in the area and his daughter worked in one of the clothing stores located in the shopping district for this part of the town. This was welcomed news in that it meant that she might be able to get herself some fresh clothing. Once the tour was over, they re-located to what she guess was the living or family room. Garin had not named a specific name for the room during the tour. She and Garin sat across from each other in chairs. They were wood framed with fabric that she could tell had been hand-woven. It had an antique feeling to it and was surprisingly comfortable. Then again, anything would have been comfortable after the years she had spent sleeping on a single piece of wood and stone floor. She did find it odd that there wasn't a television or even any form of electronic entertainment in the room or, for that matter, in any part of the house. There was a solitary radio in the kitchen area that looked like it must have been used on a daily basis. .

"You must be hungry. Let me get you something to eat while I bring you up to date on what's been going on," Garin said as he watched Iris settle into the couch.

"That would be great, if it's not too much trouble," Iris said, trying to be as courteous and respectful as she could.

"Nonsense! It's no trouble at all and it's the right thing to do. We can't have a pretty young lady like you out there with no strength. Give me a few minutes and I will see what we have," Garin said before walking into the kitchen area.

He returned a few minutes later with a plate containing several pieces of bread and butter, a few olives, pickles, and several squares of cheddar and marble cheese. In his other hand, he held a small clay mug that contained water. Iris looked at the spread and, as simple as it was, it still managed to make her mouth water as the raging hunger inside her took over. She politely took the plate and glass from Garin and placed them on the small table in front of her. She picked up a piece of bread and tore it in two. She watched Garin settle back into the chair across from her as she took a bite out of the soft organic material.

Over the next hour and a half, Garin explained to her about the nuclear bombs that had been unleashed upon the world and the resulting nuclear winter that had plunged the world in the state of hibernation that he had referred to earlier as the 'Great Sleep'. He went on to tell her the story about how a small group of super heroes, led by a strong female by the name of Sailor Moon, had saved the majority of the world's population with the use of her Silver Moon Crystal.

When the Earth had healed itself, and the leftover radiation from the nuclear blasts had lowered to safe levels, Sailor Moon had released the people of Earth from the protective crystal shells that she had placed them in. She crowned herself Neo-Queen Serenity and, with her husband King Endymion and her guardians: Hybrid, and the Sailor Soldiers, they were able to begin to rebuild the world into what it was today from the capital city known as Crystal Tokyo. It had become a world of true peace.

He finished his story by telling her that anything that could produce pollution, weapons of any sort (with the exception of swords, knives or other cutting tools), and unnecessary forms of entertainment or technology, such as television and movies, had been eradicated. Life was simple and the people of Earth seemed to be happier for it.

"That's amazing," Iris commented when he finished. It was so much to take in but yet something inside her told that that everything she had just heard was indeed true. She could feel the sense of peace that had enveloped the world, which made it feel much different than what she remembered growing up in the late 1990's.

"What year did you say the nuclear disaster occurred?" Iris asked.

"Well… let me think…" Garin said as he closed his eyes to focus his thoughts. "It was just after the tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks, so that would mean it was 2011."

Iris balked at the answer. Even though she hadn't had to use her math skills in a long time, she was still able to quickly figure out how much time had passed based on what Garin had told her. The nine centuries of the Great Sleep, plus the three hundred and twenty-two years since, plus the twelve years before all that when she was kidnapped in 1999, meant that roughly twelve hundred years had passed in Earth's history. That was incredible and hard to believe but yet, here was proof sitting in front of her with this kind man, his house, and the crumbling buildings she had seen during her trek through the forest.

Iris was silent for a few minutes as her mind continued to process what Garin had told her and the shocking realization of just how long she had been gone. Her mind stopped on a couple things and she lifted her head so that she was looking over at Garin again.

"You said that most of the world's population was saved, right?" she inquired.

Garin paused for a second before answering. "For the most part. The Earth kept moving on while we were asleep, moving the crystal shells along with it. When we were all released, some people found themselves buried deep in the Earth or in lava pits as a result of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that occurred during the hibernation. A lot of people went missing or died in those first few days; but the rest of us were lucky. I guess the good Queen had some such plan for us."

Iris ignored the urge to ask who the "queen" was, chalking it up to a reference to Neo-Queen Serenity or someone else. She felt her sense of hope rise inside her as his answer meant that there was a chance that her mother and brother were alive somewhere.

"This city, Crystal Tokyo, where is it?" she asked.

"Well, as the name implies, it is located in the area that was once Japan."

Iris considered his answer. She was in central Canada or what was once Canada. Japan was located across the Pacific Ocean, the largest body of water or, at least, it was when she was last on Earth. Who knew what kind of changes to the landscape had occurred during the past millennium. It was a very slim chance, but maybe someone in that city could help her find her brother. Maybe there was a global census or something to keep track of the world's people. It was a long shot but she really didn't have any other option and she couldn't relax until she at least tried to find them.

"Is there any way to get there? I don't have enough for a plane ticket…" she started to say before stopping when she saw Garin's eyebrow raise.

"There haven't been any airplanes since before the Great Sleep. There are some small crop dusters and helicopters in certain areas but nothing like there once was. Too much pollution, noise, and land usage, the queen said. Even commercial trains are not around anymore, just railway lines to transport food and supplies between the different settlements. Cars as well were deemed too dependent on fossil fuels and precious metals to keep around. The only fast way to get around nowadays is by horse." Garin informed her.

"I see…" Iris said, the only response she could give.

There was a brief pause between them before the sound of the front door being opened drew both of their attention. The front door opened, and two women came bustling in with paper bags of food. Garin immediately stood up and rushed to the older woman to assist her, leaning in to give her a kiss as he did so.

"We have company," he said, gently waving towards Iris on the chair by the couch. His wife was a lovely woman. Her hair was very long and brown, with gorgeous streaks of silver that accented her age and young face. She was a bit larger and her cheeks were rosy from years of health and happiness.

"Welcome!" She chirped, her jolly sing-song voice filled the room with a sense of glee. "I'm Melissa and this is our daughter Kate." She gestured to the younger woman that had come in with her. Kate looked as if she had just reached the age of twenty, and she was the spitting image of her mother. She was shapely but thin, with the same full brown mane of hair. The young girl smiled at Iris and walked into the dining room to set her bags on the table.

"Where are you from?" Kate said coming back into the living room. Garin shook his head at her and gave a consolatory look that said it wasn't important, hinting that Iris had been through a rough time and it was best not to ask her such a question. Kate simply shrugged in understanding and then said, "we're happy to have you. I grabbed several Cornish game hens. I'm a vegetarian though so you can have the extra one I grabbed at my mother's insistence," she glared over at Melissa with a look of annoyance that only a daughter can give to her parents. Iris smiled in response, suppressing the urge to chuckle at the display of playful familial mocking.

"Are you sure? I don't want to impose myself on you and your family. Your father has already done more for me than anyone else has for a long time. I really just needed some food and someone to help me understand what is going on."

From his position in the kitchen, as he helped Melissa put away the groceries into the various cabinets, Garin stared over at her with concern. He reached up and ran his fingers through his greying hair and set his jaw as he became lost in serious thought. After about a minute or so, he finally spoke.

"Tell you what…" it was clear he was still deep in thought and his voice garnered her to listen. "Stay the night here, have dinner with us, and take advantage of our bath. Let Melissa take a look at those bruises and scratches so that they don't become infected. I am sure Kate has some old clothes that she can give you. In the morning, you can take one our horses and I'll take you as far west as the next town. From there, you can keep heading west until you reach the coast where you should be able to find a ship that will take you to Crystal Tokyo… if you're sure you want to go there."

Iris nodded, "I think I do." Her words hung in the air as Melissa and Kate heard them for the first time. Garin smiled at her as she fell back into her own thoughts. He took the plate and mug he had given Iris and took them back to the kitchen. Something inside Iris was telling her that Crystal Tokyo was where she needed to go if she had any chance of finding her brother or mother. Surely, if this Neo-Queen Serenity was as wonderful as Garin made her sound, she would be able to help her or at the very least, direct her to someone that could. If it meant finding her family, or starting a new life, she had to at least try.

She smiled as she looked back at the three people that had shown her such kindness for someone they barely knew. The sense of gratitude was alive and strong as it welled up inside of her. How lucky she had been to find Garin and that he was so willing to do so much for her in such a short time. She wasn't sure how to show this gratitude or what to say; but Garin's smile made it clear that he was already well aware of how appreciative she was.

Iris excused herself to the bathroom to wash up as best she could before dinner as Melissa and Kate set to work preparing the Cornish hens. After about three-quarters of an hour, dinner was finally ready. Iris helped bring the different plates of foods over and helped Kate set the table. The four of them then moved into the small dining room. The same wooden chairs with hand-woven fabric lined a freshly made thick wooden table that to Iris looked like oak.

Iris sat towards the end of the table, near where Garin sat. Kate sat beside her and Melissa smiled across from her as she handed out clay plates and the food in the clay warming pots. She then got up and rushed to the kitchen to fill four clay cups with fresh water from the tap. Iris smiled as she took in the notion that as simple as the people of Earth's lives had become, they still were able to maintain indoor plumbing.

When each place was set and everyone had what they needed, Garin said thanks to Neo-Queen Serenity before they began to eat. The thought that this Neo-Queen Serenity was a religious figure to them and probably many other people brought ease to Iris. She had never been very religious; but she knew that most religions held some form of kindness ingrained in them and were willing to help the weak and unfortunate. This family seemed wonderful and compassionate. Surely this Neo-Queen Serenity couldn't be a corrupted figure head like the ones that were worshiped in many religions of her youth.

She drank the glass of water quickly, her thirst not fully satisfied from the earlier glass of water from Garin. It was the freshest water she had ever tasted. With this new world it seemed very likely that they had perfected a purification technique making the water cleaner than any water in the past. She set the glass down and Melissa laughed kindly. Iris was a bit embarrassed by showing how dehydrated and thirsty she was, but Melissa was quick to refill her glass with the pitcher she had brought in from the kitchen and made it clear that none of them minded.

Freshly roasted potatoes littered their plates along with a mixture of fresh vegetables. Kate had filled her plate and placed a freshly cooked Cornish game hen in front of Iris. Iris couldn't control her impulses and almost forgot any manners she may have had. She didn't use the wooden utensils beside her plate and quickly dug into the fresh meat with her fingers. She picked up the potatoes, carrots, peas, and whatever else was on her plate with her thumb and forefinger and quickly placed them in her mouth. The way she ate made it clear that she hadn't eaten properly in days or even years. Garin and his family could only stare in disbelief as they watched the spectacle. Iris only became aware of their surprised looks when she reached for her glass to wash down a mouthful of peas and carrots.

Almost immediately, a feeling of intense embarrassment enveloped her and she slowly put down the food in her hands and lowered her head. She couldn't tell if she had insulted them with her savage eating behavior; but, after being treated like an animal for so long, it was hard to make a smooth transition back to what would be considered civilized.

After what seemed like an eternity, the family began to make kind and sarcastic comments about her eating habits and she was able to laugh and smile at her own silly behavior. To make her more comfortable, Kate took away everyone's utensils and they all ate with their hands. Garin ripped the small wing from his game hen and held it out to Kate who jokingly gave it a disgusted sneer.

"I know your generation has taken to this vegetarian craze," Melissa said with a laugh, "but meat is so good!"

"I concur," Iris added with a mouthful.

All of them laughed, even Kate, though she rolled her eyes in subtle annoyance. A fresh loaf of bread was pulled from one of the bags and Melissa cut it up into four pieces. Everyone used it to clean their plates of the juices their hens had spilled and whatever residue the vegetables had left behind. When the bread was all gone, Melissa pulled out a bright red apple and handed it to Iris, who took it happily and began biting into it like a ravenous dog. The delicious juices ran down her face and she closed her eyes to let the flavor dance inside her mouth. It had been so long since she had fresh fruit, and she was so happy and grateful to feel the sweet nectar on her tongue again.

"Tomorrow I'm taking Iris to Fort William," Garin said when Kate stood to take the dirty plates from everyone and take them to the kitchen.

"Oh?" Melissa asked curiously.

"She wants to meet Neo-Queen Serenity, and I think it would be a good way to introduce her back into civilization," Garin replied, wiping his hand on a white cloth.

"That's a fantastic idea. We met her a few years after the Great sleep," Melissa said with a dreamy smile, "she's beautiful! You have to send us a letter and let us know how you're doing and how beautiful Crystal Tokyo is."

"Please do!" Kate called enthusiastically from the kitchen, "I still haven't gotten to go as it is a long way away from here; but I hear it has one of the best shopping districts in the world."

Garin laughed at his daughter, "we'll make a trip there one day soon Kate, I keep telling you."

Kate came back into the dining room, wiping her hands with a white dishrag. "I know."

"Kate," Melissa said, looking back at her daughter, "how about you get our new friend some clean clothes and put them in the bathroom."

Iris finished her apple and put the core on the white napkin before her. A hand flew to her chest and her eyes began to fill with tears as she felt her body become full and satisfied for the first time in recent memory. She was so grateful, and her stomach dance happily inside her.

Kate rushed out of the dining room and down the hall. "You look about my size, I have so many things I can give you!" She called back to Iris over her shoulder.

"Thank you," Iris called to her as she pushed herself away from the table and began to follow her down the hall. "You guys have been so kind. I don't know how I'll ever repay you."

Melissa gave her a kind smile and put her hands across the table as Iris walked by her. "Don't you worry about that." Her fingers spread, imploring Iris' hands to join hers. Iris stopped in mid-step and reached out to place her hands in her. The softness of Melissa's palms and the firm comforting grip of them forced memories of her own mother, before her descent into alcoholism and drug abuse, to flash in Iris' mind. The welling tears again threatened to spill and she squeezed back weakly.

"I don't know what you've been through, and it doesn't matter," Melissa said lowly, compassion and kindness oozing from her entire demeanor, "whatever it was, it's over now; and as your friends, we're going to help you get back on your feet."

Iris forced back her tears and nodded with gratitude. Melissa released her hands and stood up, looking down the hallway. Garin put his fatherly hands on Iris' shoulders as he came up behind her, as if he was confirming what his wife had said. Iris resisted the urge to jump away from it and let the comforting gesture envelope her.

Kate came back into the dining room, putting a hand around her mother's waist and resting her head on her mother's shoulder. "The bath's drawn for you," she said smiling at their house guest, "I also put out a new toothbrush and paste. I guess in the old age toothpaste was disgusting and unhealthy. It's completely organic now! There are also some towels, wash clothes, a hairbrush, and the clean clothes."

Iris smiled at the young woman and nodded her head in thanks. Melissa gently broke away from her daughter and led Iris to the bathroom. She closed the door for her when she was inside and settled. Iris quickly ripped off the rags clinging dirtily to her body. She got into the tub of hot water and completely submerged herself. The water felt so fresh and clean and the soap and hair products looked homemade. When she poured them into her hands and began to use them, they made her skin and hair sing. This was certainly a luxury! She couldn't remember the last time she had a proper bath but she figured it had to be before she was kidnapped. In Negonall, she was lucky if she got to bathe once a month, and that usually consisted of her being given a small bucket of dirty water and a rag.

She scrubbed herself until her skin felt raw. She used a pointed piece of wood to pick under her fingernails until all the dirt and grime was gone and they almost shined. When she finally stepped out of the tub, she brushed her clean blonde hair until a single knot couldn't be found and it shined the golden sheen it used to. She braided it back and then looked at herself in the full length mirror. Her skin was tanned and slightly reddened from walking for the past couple days, except for the areas where her dress had covered her. She cast a quick spell to remove the irritation but left the healthy glow of the new forming tan. She looked at the yellowish bruise on her jaw and briefly considered casting a healing spell to repair it; but decided against it. She didn't want the sudden absence of it to unnerve her new friends.

A few freckles were beginning to appear on her face and she smiled and welcomed their reappearance. Her brother used to tease her about them when they were growing up. He had claimed that they meant the sun had cursed her. She couldn't help but laugh out loud at the nostalgia. She was much thinner than she used to be. Her ribs stuck out at awkward angles and her arms and legs looked boney. Despite the slight tan she now had, she was still unhealthily pale and her cheeks looked hallow and sunken. Now that she was clean though, she looked a bit more like her former self. Perhaps her mother and brother would actually recognize her if she ever found them.

She brushed her teeth until they looked almost white again. It's funny how simple mundane tasks became missed during her years in Negonall. She was amazed that her teeth hadn't fallen out by now as there wasn't anything close to toothpaste in Negonall. She couldn't remember the last time she had brushed her teeth. Some nights she would use the hem of her rags to wipe off the plaque and grime, but they never felt truly clean. Now they felt incredible and the tingly feeling of the fresh mint mixed in with the paste tickled her tongue. Her gums bled a little, but she knew it was a good sign. It meant that they were reacting to the fresh organic toothpaste and killing off the abundant bacteria living there.

She used the towels to dry herself off and then went to get dressed. When was the last time she wore a bra? Or even underwear? The silly inappropriate lingerie she wore for clients or on stage didn't count. There were two sets of clothes, one was a pair of pajamas and the other was a set of newly woven blue slacks and a light fabric blue shirt. She settled into her pajamas, taking notice of the smooth feeling against her skin. She gathered the pile of clean clothes and undergarments and made her way back out into the family room.

Garin, Kate, and Melissa sat on the wooden chairs and the small couch Iris remembered had been against one of the exterior walls when she first arrived was now placed in the center of the room. It was made of wood and also covered in the same brown fabric as the larger one that she had been sitting by earlier. They all greeted her with warm smiles.

"You're so pretty!" Kate exclaimed, jumping from her seat to wrap her arms around Iris.

Iris jumped for a moment, still unused to being touched in such a kind manner. She then settled into Kate's arms and wrapped her own around her in return.

"I'm sure you must be very tired," Melissa said, walking up to them. Kate broke their embrace at her mother's approach.

"Not to mention, we have a long journey ahead of us tomorrow," Garin added, stretching and yawning to show he was ready to sleep as well.

"I already packed you a bag with some more clothes, I'll add the toothbrush, some toothpaste, and a hairbrush before you guys head out. Garin will make up a bag of food tomorrow morning before you take off," Melissa said, pointing to an empty brown cloth bag by the door.

"Thank you," Iris managed to choke out against tears and a swollen throat of gratitude. She still couldn't believe her good fortune.

"You can sleep in my room," Kate cheered. She then took Iris by the hand before either her or her parents could respond and led her back down the hall. They came to her room. It was much cleaner than Iris had expected, having been a teenager once. There was a large comfortable feather mattress on a wooden frame, a small wooden dresser stood on one wall, and candles were lit around it to give the room some light.

"Where are you going to sleep?" Iris said. She put the pile of clothes she was still holding on top of the dresser.

"I'll be on the couch out in the main room. Let me know if you need anything."

"I can take the couch. I don't want to take away your room."

Kate laughed, and wrapped her arms around Iris again. She didn't jump like she did before, but immediately put her arms around the girl. "I'll be fine!"

"Yeah," Garin said walking into the doorway, "it was actually her idea to put you in here."

"Your unexpected arrival has certainly made our daughter much more accommodating," Melissa said from behind him.

Kate rolled her eyes, and patted Iris' upper arms. "Have a good night," she said cheerily. She gave both her parents kisses on the cheeks before making her way back to the family room.

"Sleep tight," Melissa said, stepping pass her husband and placing a kiss of her own on Iris' cheek. The tears welled up in her eyes again. Despite what happened between them just before she was kidnapped, she still missed her mother and she couldn't believe how sweet Melissa had been to her, a complete stranger.

"Night, we'll be across the hall," Garin said, leading his wife out of the room. They closed the door behind them and went to their own bedroom. Iris blew out the candles and laid down in the bed. She wrapped the blankets around her and smashed the back of her head into the pillow, feeling the soft feathers inside the fabric. When was the last time she had a real bed or a pillow this comfortable? Sleep kidnapped her before she knew it and she drifted into a dreamless sleep.

The following morning, Iris had been graced with a large breakfast. The smell of cooking bacon and warm free range eggs wafted into her bedroom, filling her nose with the delicious aromas. She smiled as her brain remembered what the smells meant and she pulled herself out of the sandman's grip. She got dressed and neatly folded her pajamas before trying on the clean set of clothes Kate had given her. Just as the young brunette has guessed, the clothes did fit her body rather nicely and Iris looked at how pretty she looked in them with her clean hair and skin.

Iris came to the table and sat down. Almost immediately, Melissa appeared with a fresh plate of scrambled eggs and bacon with a tall glass of fresh water. Iris dove right into the meal; but with much more restraint than she had shown the night before.

When breakfast was over, and the plates cleaned and put away, Melissa and Kate said their good byes before they went off to their jobs. Garin handed Iris the small brown bag of food that he had prepared for her and gather his own before leading her outside to the small building where the horses were kept. The stall was small but still had plenty of room for four horses. One for each family member and an extra one just in case someone joined them and didn't have a horse of their own.

"Here, you can have this one," Garin said as he walked up to a stall on the left. Iris joined him at the door and looked in. Inside was a tall white horse with a fiery red mane. The horse looked over at the two people watching it and snorted lightly as if to say "hello".

"Kate called him Rappy but his full name is Rapidash. Apparently, the person we got him from named him as some character from a cartoon that existed before the Great Sleep." Garin shook his head in a mock gesture of disbelief. "The things some people do to hold on to the old days," he said with a playful sigh.

Beside him, Iris was trying not to laugh out loud. As a child growing up in the 1990's, she instantly knew the cartoon that Garin was referring too. It was about a young boy that travelled the lands of his world capturing creatures of different sizes in little metal balls so that he could train them and use them to battle other young people for prizes and badges. If she remembered correctly, Rapidash was the name of the horse-like creature in the series. The feeling of nostalgia that she had felt last night was back and it warmed her soul as it had the previous day.

He showed her how to saddle it and was surprised to learn Iris knew so much about horses. In her youth, her parents had been able to pay the money to send her to a summer camp where she spent most of her time tending to and riding the horses that were located there. After her father had passed away, she would scrimp and save any spare money she could so that she could attend that camp every summer. Sometimes, her brother would help with the fees if she was a little short.

She saddled the horse, and even used her magic when Garin wasn't looking to send a slight burst of air against the white horse's nose. It seemed to like this and nuzzled her face gently.

"He seems to like you. That is a good sign!" Garin said as he walked in on the cute little scene.

"I guess I have a way with animals," Iris said with a laugh as she gently petted Rappy's long nose.

"Before we get moving, there is something I want to give you." Garin reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pendent and chain. He handed it to Iris who took it in her hands. She griped it between her index finger and thumb and moved it closer to her face. It was circular and craved out of some kind of metal, copper if she had to guess. There were sections cut out of it where light could pass through it. It was clearly a symbol of some kind but it wasn't something that she recognized. It was very beautiful in its simple design.

"That's the symbol for Sailor Uranus, the patron sailor of travelers. Her powers are said to be derived from the winds and sky and will grant safe passage to any who travel across the land. She will protect you during your journey west," Garin quietly told her.

Iris smiled in response and slipped the necklace over her head. The chain was the right length and the metal symbol rested flat against the top part of her chest. Her pale skin seemed to make the reddish charm stand out even more.

With that, she and Garin mounted their horses and began their trek. They rode side by side through the city. It felt so good to be riding a horse again. She had completely forgotten the feeling of the whipping wind and gentle movements of the ride as the powerful animal swayed back and forth underneath her. Her bag of food and travel bag was strapped to the side of the saddle and she was feeling healthier and happier than she had in more years than she cared to count.

They left the city and trekked through the natural landscape of western Canada, or what was now known as Canadonia. It felt so good to have the sun against her again and the air swirling around her. Melissa had made her put on organic sunblock before she had left for work. Kate had given her a bottle to take with her so that she didn't get sunburnt. It was the last nice thing that they had done for her and the one of the many things Iris would remember about them.

On the few times that Garin got ahead of her, she played with her magic a bit watching the invisible blue and purple energies swirl in the air, making trees, grass, leaves, and bushes dance as she passed by them. She could actually feel herself smiling again, a full grin that opened her mouth wide and let the world know that she was happy.

They traveled for hours before stopping for lunch. She and Garin sat in the grass and ate the chicken sandwiches he made along with the fruits and fresh vegetables. They fed their horses some apples and gave them water from a nearby stream. She and Garin each had large leather pouches full of water, and it felt incredible that she could drink at will, for however long or however much she wanted. She was continuing to feel some semblances of her strength returning as her body accepted the food and water. She couldn't remember the last time her stomach didn't roar from starvation during this time of day.

At night, they stopped at a clearing where Garin pitched a tent made out of thick leather and collapsible steel poles. As he made a fire to cook the rabbit he had captured, a small group of people travelling like them arrived. It was clear that Garin did not know them but welcomed them all the same. That surprised Iris as it was something she had never seen before. In Negonall, everyone kept to themselves unless they wanted something from you. Here, everyone helped each other and shared jolly conversation with each other, whether they knew them or not. She was even more surprised when no money was asked for or traded for the rabbit meat and vegetables. Apparently there was more to this world that Garin hadn't told her yet.

For the second day in a row, she slept on a comfy pillow and fluffy blanket. She did have dreams this time though. Unpleasant and horrible memories of Ann as well as all her past awful owners and abusers and the horrors she had experienced.

The next few days carried on like this. She had fresh clothes to wear every day, and she became more and more at ease in her horse's saddle. She and Garin would talk from time to time during the ride, and sometimes they would race their horses just for fun. They stopped for lunch and encountered more fellow travelers that rode with them for a time. Despite her fretful dreams, she was becoming content with this new way of life, and would have been happy if she could live like this for the rest of her life.

Eventually, they reached the town of Fort William. It was located near a great lake and had a busy dock and fishing industry by the looks of it. The smell of fresh sea food and water hung heavy in the air and the buildings and stalls seemed cleaner than she ever expected. She and Garin found an inn and were graced with a meal of delicious food. They got a pair of rooms to settle in for the night. Iris didn't sleep though. She knew that she would be on her own starting tomorrow, travelling this strange frontier by herself. The anticipation of that realization rocked her to the core and kept her wide awake until her body overruled her anxious mind. However, that was only part of the reason she had been awake. The other reason was that she wanted to avoid her usual nightmares; nothing was going to ruin these last few hours with her friend and savior: Garin.

When morning finally came, Garin gently knocked on her door. Iris woke up and quickly got dressed, not wanting to keep the kind man waiting too long. After a hearty breakfast in the inn's cafeteria, she and Garin strolled outside to the inn's stables where they had put their horses up for the night. They quietly re-saddled their horses and walked out into the morning sun in silence. Both of them knew what they were about to do but refusing to acknowledge it until necessary. When they couldn't stall any longer, Garin cleared his throat and began to speak.

"That way is west." He said as he tilted his head to one side. "Keeping going in that direction. You will find more settlements like this as you go. Stop there and get something to eat for you and Rapidash. The people in the towns and cities will be more than happy to assist you and give you whatever you need. They will also help you keep heading in the right direction so that you can get to one of the ports that have ships going to Crystal Tokyo."

"Thank you Garin," Iris said. She let go of the reins attached to Rapidash and hug the older man with a tight embrace.

Over her shoulder and without turning his head towards her, Garin whispered into her ear. "Keep that pendent in plain sight. Most people will recognize that and know that you are a traveler and not a resident of these parts. A lot of people believe in the Sailors and will show respect to anyone that wears their symbols. It should make your journey easier, especially when you hit the hard terrains ahead of you."

Iris nodded her head and broke the hug. She took one last look at Garin before walking around to Rapidash's side and hoisted herself onto his back. Garin watched her as his own horse took up a spot beside then, seeming saying goodbye to his stable mate as well.

"Be careful Iris. Many of the people you will meet will be nice and compassionate." His voice lowered as he finished that sentence, letting Iris know that the next part probably wouldn't be so positive. "However, there are still some unfriendlys out there so you have to keep your guard up."

"I will," Iris promised him.

There was another minute of sad-ridden silence between them before Iris pulled on her reins and gestured for Rapidash to move forward. She looked back once at Garin's retreating form before he disappeared from view a few minutes later. Iris turned back around and looked ahead at the landscape in front of her.

"Crystal Tokyo… here I come…" she quietly whispered to herself.

**End of Chapter 3**


	5. Chasing the White Rabbit

**Chapter 4**

Shang Tsung sat in his throne room. He was a young man, looking to be in his early thirties. His long black hair was tired back into a ponytail and his goatee and mustache matched the dark colour. He was wearing a pair of yellow skintight pants and a black shirt that showed the chiseled muscle that lay underneath.

He was looking over some papers, contracts from many of his contacts in Negonall. Many of these documents were requests for certain types of humans: males, females, large ones, black ones, young ones, etc. Being the head of the largest slave trade of the demon world was very hard work. Even more distressing was that one of his slaves had managed to escape and this was causing him grief and annoyance from the slave's current owner.

He was well aware of the two people standing at the bottom of the small flight of steps but chose to ignore them for a little longer as he read the last of the yellowed paper forms. Tanya and Jarek waited patiently for him to say something, not daring to break his attention until he was ready to acknowledge them.

They had been serving him for centuries, long before the Great Sleep and ever since the start of the new era. They had become his most important workers. Shang Tsung wanted power and human souls, and the slave owners and demon masters in Negonall were happy to appease him and pay him those gifts using their own demonic energy. If word got out that the blonde slave had been allowed to escape, it would severely hurt his relationships with them and possibly lead to his death. He wouldn't let that happen; though Jerek and Tanya had been less than successful at accomplishing that important job thus far.

Moments ago, the two humans had arrived at the isolated base in the remote region of Ming, formerly known as China. The base was located in what was once labeled the Pat Sin Leng Mountains. They came in to the throne room and the large muscular man had pushed the dark skinned black hair maiden to utter the words both of them feared to say. When Shang Tsung finally lowered the papers and locked his intense dark brown eyes on them, Tanya steadied herself.

"We still haven't found the escaped girl, Iris, Master."

Shang Tsung was angry and, as her brief report registered within him, the rage inside him boiled over. If the slave, Iris, was not found and returned to Negonall, he wouldn't receive any more payments for the slaves he had his people captured and, worse, he could face harsh consequences from the monsters he served. As powerful as he was, he was no match for them. He set his jaw and tried to avoid the violent outburst that was threatening to break free. He tilted his head down, thinking about the failure of this two lieutenants.

He finally looked from the floor and, in a blink of an eye; he disappeared and reappeared right in front of the two ninjas.

"It's been four weeks," he hissed, the Chinese language laced with his rage. He looked at Jarek as he said this, locking his brown eyes with the browns ones of his man. He turned to look at the smaller Tanya. "And you still haven't found one lost girl!" His voice rose as he was talking until he was shouting. His eyes narrowed and a vein in his young face became visible and rose to near throbbing levels, which terrorized the two of them. They had both personally seen what their master had done to people that failed several times in the past. The reality that they could be facing a similar fate unnerved them.

"We're doing all that we can," Tanya replied quietly and respectfully. She kept her eyes low, not wanting to look her master in the eyes. She changed her stance so her feet widened, preparing herself for the punishment that her pathetic response might incur from him. Her black and yellow one piece showed off her strong dark-skinned frame.

"Do more," Shang hissed again. The tone of his voice suggested that both of them should remain silent or else they would feel the wrath of his rage. Shang paused a second later, letting the silence around them emphasize his point. He then turned around and walked up the few steps beneath his throne, his hands were behind his back as he took his seat upon the large royal chair again.

"Master, why are you so concerned with this one girl? We have given the demons of Negonall thousands of humans for their amusement and labour," Jarek asked, not seeming to care anymore if he angered his master.

Shang Tsung looked directly at Jarek. For a brief moment, Jarek wondered if he was about to have his heart literally ripped out or be impaled on the bed of nails that he had seen Shang Tsung do to many others.

"You imbecile! That girl's escape has embarrassed the Black Dragon. We cannot allow that girl to remain free and become a symbol of hope for the others still trapped there," Shang Tsung spat from his position on the throne. It took everything inside him to not snap the man's neck where he stood for daring to question his orders and intentions. Jarek nodded his head in understanding but said nothing else.

There was another brief pause before the door of the throne room was thrown open. Jarek and Tanya turned around to look at it, their eyes narrowing in silent relief at having their meeting and the tense atmosphere interrupted. A large boned Jinkinin demon came strolling in. Her black hair was tied in a high knot with loops and her fat green skin was barely held and concealed in the golden lingerie that she wore. She strode up to the base of the stairs and threw a stack of letters in front of the strong Asian man. It was clear that she didn't respect or care if she insulted Shang Tsung with her lack of proper decorum in his own throne room.

"I've been getting numerous complaints at the Curisex ever since Iris escaped," she scolded, her green skin tightening with anger. "I am losing business because of your incompetence in failing to prevent her escape," she added, again not caring if she spoke out of turn.

Shang Tsung glanced down at the pile of letters scattered around the floor at his feet. He made no motion to pick any of them up but flicked his eyes back towards the disgusting unnatural abomination that dared to think she could order him around. He could kill her with little effort, like snapping a twig. He held his rage for the moment and tilted his chin upwards slightly. "What do you expect me to do, Latice?"

"Find her, return her to me, or I'll will have the demon leaders of Negonall revoke their contracts with you and take back the power they have given you."

He gave a weary sigh, scratching at his chin with his thumb and forefinger. The demons had learned much from their human slaves it would seem. Using such empty threats to make them sound more powerful or imposing was something that amused him. Latice was speaking like a lawyer or politician, because she knew that she was no danger to him personally.

"Your failing business is of no concern to me. You have many other slaves to fill in the one empty slot in your showcase theatre." His voice dropped and filled with scorn as he referred to her club. "The slave known as Iris will be returned to Negonall in short order. Whether or not she gets returned to you is between you and the leaders of the demon dimension," he coldly finished, not showing any hesitation as he saw the female demon tense with anger.

Latice maintained her cool head and rolled her eyes at Shang Tsung. She turned on her heel and began to storm towards the door.

"Oh and Latice…" Shang Tsung called to her as she neared the door of the throne room.

Latice stopped and turned her head around, looking back over her shoulder at the trio of humans. She didn't say anything but her eyes were clearly asking what he wanted.

"Don't come into my throne room again," Shang Tsung flatly stated. The meaning behind his statement was crystal clear.

Latice gave all of them a cold stare and turned back around, strolling into the hallway. She then turned down the hall and made her way to the portal in one of the other rooms. She was lucky she lived in Negonall and didn't have to stay here with these repulsive humans. She smiled a little as she passed through the dimensional rift as she remembered how her quick appearance had made Shang even angrier than he had been when she first entered the throne room.

Back in grand room, Shang Tsung looked down at the pile of letters still at his feet. He raised a single eyebrow and, in a quick flash of orange-red, the various pieces of paper were burned by magical fire.

"We get it, the Jikinin is angry and we need to find that girl before she escalates further," Tanya said, setting her jaw to show that she understood the importance as she restated the obvious for Jarek in case he still didn't grasp it. She didn't like him in the slightest as he reminded her of all the men in her life that had kept her down or held her back from reaching her potential.

"The slave girl doesn't matter!" Shang roared as he sat straight up in the large chair. "The fact that she escaped is what matters. Her mere existence is dangerous for us and Negonall as a whole, especially to our relations with the dimension." Each syllable made Tanya and Jarek cringe, still not fully comfortable about their boss scolding them. "The demons I serve will cut off my benefits, not just the fat cow Latice. My immortality is of utmost importance, even more so than your very lives. Do you understand?" He turned to look at them, looking impatiently for the answer.

"Yes, Master," Tanya and Jarek both said at once.

"Now, go and prove your usefulness by finding her. Do not return here until you have or your soul will be mine!" Shang Tsung ordered, lowering his voice for the last part. Jarek and Tanya both swallowed a little at the very thought of that last visual.

They both turned in unison and quickly exited the throne room. They walked down the hallway in silence before splitting up and heading in different directions. Jarek walked down a short pathway. As he walked, a young man stepped out from an enclave cut into the wall, ahead of him.

"How did things go, sir?" The young blonde haired man inquired.

"As well as to be expected, Kobra," Jarek responded.

The young man nodded his head once, knowing from the look on his superior's face that all of them were hanging by a thread in the eyes of Shang Tsung. They had to find Iris, and soon, or they would be meat for the wild dogs that roamed the countryside.

"Any ideas on where you want to look now?" Kobra asked.

"We picked her up in Gaul, known as France back then. She might go there or Canadonia, where she said she was from. Keep our scouts there, looking for her." Jarek pursed his lips as a thought entered his mind. He lowered his eyes as he played the notion out in its entirely.

"Place some spies around the outskirts of Crystal Tokyo," he said, lifting his head again to look at Kobra. "It's possible that she has learned about the capital city of this sickening world and is heading there for possible sanctuary. If she is heading there, we can't let her reach the city limits. Neo-Queen Serenity and her Sailor Warriors won't let us take her if she gets to them. We need to avoid that outcome at all costs."

Kobra nodded fiercely, balling his hands into fists. "I'll send spies to watch those locations at once, sir. She won't be allowed to get close to Crystal Tokyo," he responded, tapping his fist against his chest.

"Good," Jarek said, narrowing his eyes at Kobra.. He pushed past the young blonde haired man and continued on down the hallway. Kobra remained where he was and watched him leave. When he disappeared from sight, he walked down the hallway, intent to complete the orders he had just been given.

Hundreds of miles away, Iris rested her hands on the cool metal railing of the ship as it sailed along the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean. The sun was shining bright overhead. Across the wide span of open water that was in front of her, there were no signs of land; but she could see a few whales bobbing up and down along the shimmering silvery surface.

As the ship plowed along, her mind wandered back over the past month. She had traveled the rest of western Canadonia for three weeks with Rapidash as her only partner for most of the journey. She had come to several towns, as Garin had said she would, and other travelers.

For the most part, at first she avoided any company that wasn't her red and white stallion. She was still too horrified and afraid to deal with anyone she didn't know. However, as she continued to travel, she began to open up little by little as she saw that the vision of the world Garin had given her was proving to be accurate. When she came to an inn she would feast and accept the kind hospitality that the owners would offer her. She would keep to herself but politely talk to anyone that addressed her and sat down with her. As Garin had instructed her too, she would either ask the inn keeper, or another town local, if she was headed in the right direction. On several occasions, this had led her to finding other people who were heading west and was offered the chances to travel with them. Iris had been understandably hesitate the first time she was given the invitation. One of the women in the group noticed this reaction of uncertainty. Later on, at dinner time, she politely sat down next to Iris and waited until she turned her head to look at her.

"You are a servant of the Sailors?" She quietly asked.

"Pardon?" Iris asked, not sure she heard the question right.

"The pendent you wear around your neck. That's the symbol of Sailor Uranus. It identifies you as being a person who worships them and their benevolent power," the young woman replied, using her hand to indicate the small copper red charm daggling from Iris' neck.

"Ohhh… yea," Iris said sheepishly as she reached up and grasped the pendent in her right hand. "It was given to me by a friend. He said it would keep me safe as I travelled west," she continued, figuring it was better to be honest than to try and pretend.

"Your friend must care about you a lot to give you something so meaningful." The young woman responded with a warmness that reminded Iris of Garin's wife, Melissa.

"Yes. He is very special. He helped me when I was low and gave my life a direction," Iris said quietly. She missed Garin and his family and would have liked nothing better than to be back with them.

"I see," the woman responded, seeing Iris' eyes lose some of their luster as she thought about Garin. "My name is Sherill." She waited for Iris to look back at her. Iris looked at Sherill and gave her a small smile, a non-verbal version of 'hello, it's nice to meet you.'

"My husband and family are servants of the Sailors as well. We gladly help anyone that serves them as well in whatever way we can. It's the right thing to do after everything they have done for us," Sherill said as she reached out slowly to place her hand on top of Iris' left hand, resting on the table.

Iris flinched at the first touch of Sherill's hand but kept it where it was and let the older woman rest her hand on hers. There was something about this woman that made her feel comfortable. It was the same feeling that she had felt when she first met Melissa and the 'aura' that surrounded her.

"Are you going to the west coast?" Iris asked, looking down at the table for a second before looking up at Sherill's face.

"No, we are not. But we can take you as far west as we are going. We know people that can help you beyond that point. We will make sure that you receive safe passage to your destination, where ever it is," Sherrill quietly but compassionately replied.

Iris smiled as she thought about Sherill and that first conversation they had had. As it turned out, Sherill's family had an old-fashioned styled chuck wagon that they were using to transport goods and supplies between the towns and cities they traded with. During the day, she rode with them and at night, she would curl up in the back of the wagon with Sherill and her children as her husband and brothers continued on, leading Rapidash with them for a few more hours before stopping to sleep themselves. They covered much more distance and greatly sped up Iris' journey across the vast continent.

Every night since she started this trek, she was haunted by nightmares. Ann's pale dead face danced in her mind or the Asian Man's cruel laugh followed her even when she was awake and riding along with the convey. She kept her dreams secret, but it was hard to keep her mind on anything else.

As promised, when the time came for Sherill and her family to part ways with Iris, the mature blonde woman gave her instructions on where to go and who to seek out at the next towns Iris would come across. Using those directions, Iris found herself at the west coast in about a week and half.

When she came to the large fishing village with the docks that Sherill and Garin had indicated as the place she needed to go, she was immediately greeted by many different merchants and fishermen, offering her fresh food and clothes. She politely took what she needed, not wanting to be greedy and unsure of what she would need exactly. She did ask them if they knew of a ship that was heading to Crystal Tokyo in the near future. As luck would have it, there was one leaving the following day. However, horses weren't allowed on the boat which meant that Rapidash would have to stay behind.

She wandered the streets of the village, looking for someone she could trust to take care of Rapidash after she left. The gentle creature must have sensed her sadness at having to leave him as he nuzzled his long nose against the side of her head. Iris smiled as a tear came down her cheek as she looked up at the beautiful animal.

She found a blacksmith near the center of the village. He was busy hammering at a piece of hot iron when she entered his workshop. She had tethered Rapidash's reins to the hitching post just outside the large open doors.

"Excuse me?" She asked, during one of the quiet times when he wasn't hammering.

"Yes?" The man asked with a smile. He didn't seem to be annoyed in the slightest by the unexpected appearance of the young girl. Iris assumed that was because he thought she was a potential customer or something.

"Ummm… I am travelling on a boat tomorrow but I can't take my horse with me. Boat rules or something. Is there…" Iris trailed off, unsure if she could finish her sentence. She didn't want to impose the responsibility of taking care of an animal such as a horse on someone that she didn't know. It didn't seem proper to her.

"Would you like me to watch over your horse until you return?" The blacksmith asked, seeming to understand where the conversation was going.

"Well… I am not sure if I am coming back this way any time soon. My horse and I have been through a lot together and I want to make sure he is taken care of when I leave," Iris slowly said, still feeling like she was imposing too much on this man.

"I see. The bond between human and beast is a spiritual one and something that not everyone can understand." The blacksmith craned his head upwards and looked past Iris to stare at the white and red horse just outside his door. "That's a central white stallion, only found in the middle part of this region. Did you get it out there?" The man asked her, returning his gaze to Iris.

"Yes, I did. A friend gave it to me when I began my westward travel." Iris answered.

"Would you like the horse returned to him?" The man asked.

"Yes, of course. If it's possible, I mean," Iris said as her voice perked up.

"I have a friend that travels out to the region a few times a year. I can send the horse back with him the next time he goes. What's your friend's name and where does he live?" The blacksmith asked as he put the cooling metal back into the fire pit.

"His name is Garin and he lives in the eastern part of the town of Sand Hill. The horse's name is Rapidash," Iris said as she relaxed her muscles.

"I will make sure your companion gets there safely," The man said as he turned back to look at Iris.

"Thank you so much, mister…" Iris started to say.

"Michael. And no thanks are necessary. I am always happy to help out another fellow servant."

Iris looked at him with some confusion. Michael smiled and pointed to her neck before taking off his glove and reaching into his shirt and produced a pendent of his own. His charm was different than hers, it was a sphere with an arrow sprouting from the top right section of it. Iris remembered seeing the symbol in the past as being the representation for 'men' but she quickly lamented that it was also the symbol for the planet Mars. Clearly, this blacksmith was like Sherill and her family and was someone that worshiped the Sailors.

Iris thanked the man again and said her tearfully goodbyes to Rapidash. She fed and brushed him using food and a brush the blacksmith gave her. She cooed to him to let him know that she was sure this man would deliver on his word and return him back to Garin and his family. The horse snorted its version of farewell and nuzzled his snout one more time against her face before she slowly backed up and walked away.

She spent the night at the local inn but still couldn't get much sleep. Her nightmares were still haunting her and her anxiety of taking the next step to reaching what she hoped would be the place where she could finally find the inner peace, had forcibly kept waking her. The pounding of her heart made it impossible to relax in the warm feather bed. She found herself staring into the dark watching the images of her dreams float by.

When morning finally came, she gathered up what little things she had and made her way to the ship. From the outside, the ship seemed and looked to be somewhat luxurious, but that was because large groups of people would ride it to Edo, what the country of Japan was now called, to visit Crystal Tokyo. She didn't have to pay anything or even ask for a ticket. That was something she was still having trouble getting used to, the absence of money and the need for it.

She had been greeted by the ship's captain and led to her own room. The room was small; but she had seen far, far worse. A feather bed lay on one side, and a tiny wood dresser on another. It also had a door leading to small private bathroom and Iris rejoiced that she would get to wash up regularly and maintain the clean hygiene she was getting used to.

The captain had come onto the public announcement system as they had cast off, telling everyone that they would be on the ship for ten days. Iris knew she would have to make herself comfortable; but after the weeks of travel by horseback and the years of living like a prisoner in an otherworldly hell, a few days of living in a tight bedroom and riding a boat with limited deck space would be easy for her.

One of the boat workers told her someone would wash her clothes regularly every three days and gave her a list of the three meal times held in the dining area. A buffet was usually open at all hours so she was not going to starve. With all these amenities, something inside her let her know that she would be comfortable on the journey; but she still couldn't help the feelings of sadness and forelorning that remained inside her.

Iris shook her head and pulled herself out of the memory she had been in. She stared out at the water again before turning around to look at the people around her. She rested her back against the cool metal railing, being very careful to not fall backwards. She could swim but not in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

She had kept to herself mostly during the cruise up to this point. She found herself alone and battling her own personal enemies. Even on a ship that was filled with people who appeared to embrace the overall feelings of love and friendship that she had encountered in Canadonia, she would often remain in her room and suffer alone in silence. Every night of the voyage, just as she had every night before it, she was haunted by the same dreams over and over again. The Asian man's angry slanted eyes and crazed cackle echoed inside her brain. Memories that she had forced herself to forget began to creep back into the forefront of her mind. Dozens of cruel owners and abusive clients she had repressed laughed at her, scolded her, physically beat her, and reminded her that she was no better than a maggot.

For those first few days, she had rarely left her room, except for the designated meal times. There were a few people that had offered her a seat next to them but she usually rushed back to her room with the meal, offering a hasty but polite apology. She didn't want to leave the comfort of her bed or the warm water of the bathtub. She cried often and tried to sleep in between.

Over time, she slowly began to embrace the days that weren't so bad. These were the days when she had left her room to wander around the ship. She loved the feeling of the air rushing through her long blonde locks and the salty smell of the sea. She loved standing on the bow of the ship and to just enjoy the scene as the boat broke through the waves ahead of them.

Unfortunately, there were several hundred people on board, passengers all around her that she didn't want any part of through no fault of their own. She could tell by their faces that they were kind friendly people, and even the children they had with them were well behaved and sweet; but she couldn't bring herself to get close to any of them. On a few occasions, over the last couple of days, she would have a small conversation with a person before making an excuse to go back to her room. Often times she would stand in a dark corner or doorway and watch the people as they talked or walked around.

She desperately craved some form of companionship; but a large fear twisted her insides and forced her to remain hidden. People were dangerous, weren't they? That had been what she learned so long ago when she was kidnapped and brought to Negonall. Even the kindest looking people could be dangerous.

There had been one client she had to deal with for a week straight. He had a boyish face and curly brown hair and she remembered questioning him at first as to why he was even in Negonall. Instead of answering her question, he whipped her, beat her into a bloody clump on the floor, and then shackled her to a strange air borne contraption. The device was meant to put pressure on her joints and breathing with the intention of making her scream and gasp in pain for his amusement. It was just one of the thousand memories that she carried with her.

It had been easier when it was just her and Rapidash. She had spent a lot of time in the stables with him when they arrived in a town for the night. She had talked to Rappy and told him all of her dark, ugly secrets. Some days, she had amused herself with simple spells and to comfort the healthy stallion who seemed to enjoy the pretty colours and sounds that the enchantments produced. He always greeted her when she entered and it seemed he was flourishing in the constant presence of her. Although he wasn't able to get out and run, stable workers would clean and pamper him when she was out getting supplies for the next few days of travel. He had become her only friend, the only one she could truly love and trust, mainly because he would never betray or hurt her.

Iris wiped a tear away from her face as she thought of her friend. She hoped that he was on his way back home with the blacksmith's friend and that he was being treated kindly. She had to believe that he was, as there was nothing she could do otherwise. Perhaps one day, if Crystal Tokyo didn't pan out the way she hoped, she would go back to Garin and his family and start a new life in Sand Hill.

She smiled softy at that idea before lifting her head and looking back at the passengers around her. Perhaps these people, the people on the ship, weren't dangerous; but what would they ever want with her? She was a disgusting whore. The Asian man had said that and even she had said it: she had done horrible disgusting things and disgusting horrible things had been done to her. Who would want anything to do with someone like that? People that looked just like the people on this ship had been the ones to do most of those terrible things to her. Maybe these particular people weren't cruel, but she couldn't trust them.

She sighed in defeat as she pushed herself off the railing. She entered into the interior of the ship and made her way back to her room. She politely returned any greetings that were given to her by people as she navigated the narrow hallways. She reached her room and didn't allow herself to fully relax until the door was closed and locked behind her.

She curled under the covers of her bed for another night. She sobbed, and cried out for Ann. She was pained that she had been the one to survive and the young girl hadn't. What was Neo-Queen Serenity going to do? If she couldn't help her find her mother and brother, there was nothing left on Earth for her anymore. On the other hand, even if she did find them, what good could they do? They wouldn't be able to change what she had become and what she had done. Those last few thoughts burned themselves yet again into her mind and she buried her face in the pillow and let another restless night of sleep bore down upon her.

**End of Chapter 4**


	6. Different Elements Collide!

**Chapter 5 – Different Elements Collide!**

"Attention all passengers! We have just received word that the dock at Crystal Tokyo is currently backlogged so, in order to maintain our schedule, we are going to disembark at the Yokohama pier a few miles west of the city limits. We should be disembarking in approximately one hour."

The captain's voice shouted over the loud speakers that ran the span of the ship, ensuring that each and every one of its passengers heard the announcement regardless if they were on deck or in their cabins. Iris was standing in front of the small mirror in her private bathroom when the unexpected audio message echoed through the tiny space that had been her room. Her face had filled out nicely, her skin colour had brightened from the past weeks of regular meals, and now it had a healthy glow from her many long days in the warm sun. She brushed her long blonde hair slowly, making the golden silk shine. She replayed the words of the announcement in her mind as she slid the bristles of the brush down the full length of her hair and sighed. The unexpected change in departure was a bit of an inconvenience; but she was excited and anxious to think that her journey to Crystal Tokyo was almost over.

As per what the captain had said, it would be about an hour until they reached Yokohama. To pass the time, she decided to get herself ready and not be one of those people that left everything to the last minute and had to rush around like a crazy person so that they didn't miss their departure schedule. She let a small smile creep across her face as a memory of one Christmas when she was younger came to focus. She and her brother had been watching the people at the airport while their parents waited for their uncle and aunt to arrive. Her eyes flashed as she realized that she had never thought to consider that her extended family might still be out there too. Perhaps Neo-Queen Serenity could help her find them as well.

She put that thought into her memory bank to be pulled out later if, or when, she did manage to get an audience with the fabled ruler of this new world. She blinked her eyes a few times to refocus her attention on the task at hand. She began packing her one travel bag that had been her lifeline throughout the entire journey, other than Rapidash. She still had a little bit of her bathroom supplies, the hair brush, one more bar of soap, and hair products that Melissa and Kate had been kind enough to give her. She would need to restock once she got to Crystal Tokyo at one of the convenience stores that Garin and Sherrill had told her about during their times with her. Alongside those items was her collection of newly washed clothes, courtesy of the ship's hospitality crew. Satisfied that she had everything she needed now packed in her bag, she turned back and put herself once again in front of the tiny mirror in the bathroom.

Using the skills that she had learned as a child, she braided her hair into one simple braid that fell to the middle of her back. She took a small step back and admired her reflection in the mirror. She smiled to herself as she was pleased with the way she looked in her brown travelers pants and flowing blue shirt. She gently rocked back and forth on her feet, feeling the comfortable rubber and leather of her shoes rub against the soft cotton of the white socks on her feet. She was starting to resemble her old self again, the person she had been before Negonall and the horrors that she had experienced. Perhaps her mother and brother would be able to recognize her now!

She sat down on the edge of her bed and watched the ocean pass by through the circular porthole in the hull of the ship. It was a view that she had gotten used to. The sight of the rolling waves and the dull roar of the engine beneath her had allowed her to find her inner center of peace. She sat there for about half an hour in silence, enjoying the feeling of harmony and relative quiet.

When the beginnings of land started to creep into her line of sight, she breathed a quiet sigh and stood up. She picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. She exited her cabin and went to the small front desk near the main entrance to this particular section of the passenger quarters. She let the man sitting there know that she was 'checking out' and that it was free to be cleaned and prepared for the next group of passengers that would be using it. The man smiled up at her.

"Did you have a good voyage?" He inquired with a smile.

"Yes I did. The captain and crew were really nice," Iris replied with a smile of her own.

She said goodbye to the man as another batch of passengers came up behind her to check out as well. She walked up the staircase and came out on the main deck and stood at the bow of the ship. She stared out at the sparkling blue ocean while she leaned on the metal railing. Coming up to greet her, and the rest of the ship's passengers, was the mass of land that had been called Japan. Iris saw the tops of buildings and swirls of smoke from wood burning fireplaces and commercial businesses. To her right, she saw the glimmering tower that could have been the Crystal Palace standing tall in the sunshine. She stared in awe at it as she tightly griped the metal railing before a small breeze blew some chilly air against her face and broke the majestic sight's hold on her. She turned to look to her left at the span of coastline that ran to the west, dividing her vision of the blue of the ocean with the green and brown of land. This would be the last time she would get to do this, assuming she didn't make another voyage. She closed her eyes and silently said her goodbyes to the sea breeze and salt water, taking in what she could of the air during her last few minutes on board.

_Please Neo-Queen Serenity; help me find my family, _she thought silently. It was the closest thing to a prayer she could muster. Her many years in Negonall had forced her to lose all faith in a higher power; but it was clear that this Neo-Queen, whomever she was, had some sort of unexplainable benevolent power over the majority of the people of the world. Maybe she was a magic user, much like she was. Regardless, it was very clear that this supposedly wonderful person would be the most likely answer to most, if not all, of her problems. Iris griped the metal railing tightly again as every fiber of her being hoped that would be the case.

She watched as the port, and all its intricate details, came into view. She took a deep breath and prepared herself for the next phase of her quest. She collected her bag from its spot on the deck beside her and moved with the other passengers towards the exit onto land. As the crowd of people grew around her, she looked around and was able to recognize some of the faces within the masses. She had spoken to quite a few of them and the people that looked over towards her now nodded and smiled at her before returning to look back towards the exit and the pair of crew members that had taken positions on either side of it.

Once the ship was properly secured and all the safety checks were made, the thick metal bridge lowered down onto the flat steel platform of the pier. Several people were standing at the base of it, ready to greet the new arrivals as they disembarked. Iris and the other passengers began to make their slow descent down. She was expecting some sort of anxious bombardment or exodus as the people fought their way down the exit. Maybe that was due to her years of fighting with other people for food or the necessities of life, the proverbial 'every person for themselves' mentality. In reality, everyone walked carefully in a very orderly fashion. They even helped each other with their bags and seemed to be constantly smiling as they stepped onto the Yokohama dock.

"Over there!" A boy in front of Iris pointed, yanking hard on his mother's sleeve. "That's where Crystal Tokyo is, right?"

"That's right, sweetheart. You can see the Crystal Palace from here!" The boy's mother said in a sweet and loving tone.

When Iris stepped onto the dock, she immediately looked in the direction the boy had pointed. She moved in the opposite direction of the exiting crowd to an empty pier nearby. She quickly hurried her way to the end of it. The closer she came to the end of the pier, the brighter the shining light high above the land seemed to become. Now that she was on land and thus closer to it; the towering crystalline structure seemed even more breathtaking.

So that was the Crystal Palace: the place Garin and his family had raved about and where the small boy had just pointed. It glimmered like a diamond in the sunshine and seemed to light up the day's skyline. Even over the long distance, where she stood, it looked massive and beautiful. This was the symbol of the capital city and the sparkling structure marked its center.

"There it is," she quietly said to herself. She took a deep breath, knowing she was only coming closer to the end of her long journey. She took a few moments to steady her nerves as she mustered the strength to turn around. She walked back down the empty pier and rejoined the last of the passengers as they exited the ship. Following them, she made her way deeper into Yokohama before beginning to make her way east towards Crystal Tokyo.

The young blonde slowly made her way up the pier with the rest of the people so she could get up to the streets and market areas of the seaside city. A young man watched as she passed by him. He stepped back from amidst the crowds of pedestrians and fishermen who moved along the wide wooden platforms. He reached into his long brown coat and pulled out a piece of paper. He looked at the pencil drawing on it. It had been given to him weeks ago by his boss who had hired an artist that worked in Negonall to draw it for him and the dozens of other people ordered with this task.

He stared at it long and hard for another few moments before looking back to glance at the retreating form of the young woman. She was heading west towards the capital city, but she stopped for a moment to take another glance at the capital's shining center piece. As she did so, someone bumped into her and her body turned so that her face was visible to him again. He watched her and studied her features as she exchanged apologies with the other person before turning back around. That did it for him. He now knew with certainty that she was the girl he was looking for.

He reached back into his brown jacket and put the sketch back inside it. He then reached into another pocket and pulled out a small device. It appeared to be a black radio; but he brought it to his mouth, pushed a button, and muttered a few words.

Hundreds of miles away, in the remote mountains of Ming (once known as China), Jarek excitedly pushed open the doors to the throne room. He had a slight skip in his stride as he briskly made his way to the base of the steps. His excitement made his heart pound and he practically danced impatiently as he waited for Shang Tsung to acknowledge him.

He knew Shang Tsung would be happy to hear his news but he still had to show respect. Speaking out of turn could, and had in the past with other people, prove to be fatal where the powerful sorcerer was concerned. After a few moments, the young faced leader of the Black Dragon looked up and Jarek couldn't contain the sentence he had been withholding any longer. He let the words take him and spill from his mouth like uncontainable fire.

"Master! We have found her! One of my spies just saw her in Edo. She is heading towards Crystal Tokyo and will reach the city limits within a few hours!"

"What!?" Shang Tsung jumped from his golden throne and came face to face with his employee in a blink of an eye.

Jarek tried to remain brave and tensed his muscles in preparation for any physical impact his Master may cause him. This was not the reaction he had been expecting from Shang Tsung. "We finally found her, Master," he swallowed, trying hard to sound as strong as he looked. "After all this time, we finally found her."

The cruel young man's face reddened with anger. "You imbecile! We can't let her reach the city. If she does, that stupid queen and her sailor soldiers will never give her up to us. Our alliance with Negonall will be doomed!"

Jarek sealed his lips, suddenly understanding why his master wasn't as happy with the news as he had hoped. He bowed his head, showing his respect to Shang Tsung. He was prepared for any punishment the cruel leader may have had for him for not foreseeing the outcome. "I understand, Master."

"Send Keno and Baraka immediately. Have them bring her back!" Shang Tsung ordered with a tone that told Jarek that he meant what he said.

Jarek quickly stood from where he bowed and nodded his head once. Shang Tsung turned around and made his way back up towards the luxurious Chinese throne with twin dragon heads craved into its base. Jarek then turned and, without saying a word, began to make his way out the door. He had every intention to carry out his orders promptly.

"Jarek!" Shang Tsung's voice boomed across the empty space of the room. Jarek stopped mid-step and turned in the doorway to look back at his master over his shoulder. "Do not fail me. If you do, your soul will be mine!"

Jarek didn't bother to say anything. He knew Shang would be true to his word and giving any response would anger him further. He returned to his quick pace, closing the door behind him. He was not about to lose his soul over a stupid little girl. Surely, Kano and Baraka wouldn't fail his orders. They were under him as his subordinates and they knew how important this mission was! If they failed, he would kill them himself before Shang Tsung would have a chance to kill him.

In the Minato district, each of the Sailors had been given homes of their own, following the events of Aldrich Reid and Carnage's invasion of the Crystal Palace. They were just big enough for everyone to live comfortably and allow some space to grow. Sailor Neptune, Uranus, and Saturn had decided to live together, resuming the ruse they had been living before the Great Sleep as a family consisting of a mom, dad, and young daughter. They had a lovely two bedroom, one was a master for the lovers to share, with all the necessities everyone needed to live. It also had plenty of room for them to practice their various individual hobbies.

On this particular day, it was quiet. Sailor Saturn was out with the other young Sailors, either at the play house or ice cream shop. Sailor Uranus had gone out to meet with Sailor Jupiter and Hybrid to discuss battle strategies or training drills for all the other sailors or Royal Guards to work on.

Every week, Sailor Jupiter and Hybrid would take the younger Sailors out to an isolated area outside the city limits for some intense training. Since they were new to the world of life and death battle, Hybrid and the older Sailors wanted to make sure they were prepared in case something else were to arrive or follow in Norman Osborn's footsteps.

While it was true that the older Sailors were experts when it came to their own powers, they were not completely off the hook either. It had been decided that they still weren't as ready for battle as they would have liked to believe, judging on how easily the Sinister Seven had captured them. In the wake of that realization, at least once a month, Sailors Uranus, Jupiter, and Mars would train the older and younger Sailors in various forms of martial arts to make them more rounded and adaptable to different kinds of enemies.

It had been a great idea and it served as a bonding experience for all the Sailors as well as keeping them trained and sharp in battle. Neo-Queen Serenity had also decided that the older Sailors would gather at the Crystal Palace once a month for luncheons, realizing that they had all been drifting apart as each of their extra-circular activities took away their free time and focus. So far, both events had been successful as the friendship they all once had was beginning to re-bloom and re-strengthen and the Outer Sailors, Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn, were now fully apart of the gang and not outsiders anymore.

Sailor Neptune smiled as she thought about that and how it warmed her heart to have that feeling of togetherness with everyone now. She knew that Sailor Uranus felt the same way but she would never willingly admit it.

Sailor Neptune sat on the handmade couch, practicing her violin, letting the soft chords of music fill the quiet atmosphere of the house. Her smile faded slightly as she thought about the last member of their team, Sailor Pluto. While she loved these monthly gatherings and the fact she and Sailor Uranus were almost never apart, she still couldn't help be feel a bit of melancholy for Sailor Pluto. The warrior tasked with protecting the flow of time and space was not allowed to leave her post, at the Door of Time, for any reason. While Sailor Neptune and the other Sailors were bonding and training, the tough but gentle warrior was left all alone to her guard duties in the cold emptiness of the time nexus.

Sailor Neptune began to play a sad tune on her violin for her friend as her image flashed in her mind. Her bow danced across the strings as she poured her emotions about Pluto out onto the instrument. She knew this was the way things had to be, but it was hard not to feel sad for the lonely warrior. Like ocean waves, the music she created danced through and around her, creating a beautiful scene for the aquamarine sailor.

Suddenly, she stopped playing. Something was calling out to her. She felt a strange energy begin to fill her and she put down her violin on the couch beside her. She stood up and crossed the room over to the table by the window. This was where she and Sailor Uranus kept their weapons, the beautiful talismans that made them the powerful warriors they were.

Sailor Uranus was out so she had taken her Space Sword with her; so Sailor Neptune's Deep Aqua Mirror sat alone upon the table. It was turned face down; but even so, it was physically vibrating with energy, she knew it needed her to pick it up. She grasped it in both hands and held it up to her face, turning it around so the reflective surface faced her.

The glass reflection suddenly turned dark. Within the black cloud a young blonde woman laid upon the ground, crying out over another young strawberry blonde teenager. The grieving woman looked pale and sickly, and Sailor Neptune could immediately feel the grief the woman was feeling. The scene changed, the girl was now standing just outside of Crystal Tokyo as a black portal appeared behind her and two figures stepped out. Sailor Neptune couldn't see the figures clearly as the mirror was not allowing her too. However, she could tell from their body posture that they intended to hurt the girl.

The image faded away and was replaced with the reflection of her worried and concerned face, becoming an ordinary mirror once again. The vague visions it gave were short and only skimmed the surface of a much larger truth. She had recognized the spot where the woman and the two figures had appeared in the image. She knew she was far away from that location and running to save this sickly stranger wouldn't be the best plan.

She quickly pulled the wrist watch, which doubled as a communication device, to her face and pressed the small button on its side to call upon her lover and the other sailors.

At that same exact moment, Sailor Ceres was pouring over a sheet of papers beside the super computer, located in the basement of the Crystal Palace. When Sailor Mercury was too busy at the hospital or inventing new technologies, the smart young Sailor watched over the super computer that her sister, Sailor Pallas, had affectionately named 'Crystal'. As per her usual routine, she had been looking over the records and findings it had made over the last few months and reading a book when her eyes and brain needed a break. It didn't take long for something to catch her eye.

A few weeks ago the records stated there were two energy spikes in Canadonia. This was about the same time Hybrid and the Outer Sailors went on their mission to apprehend Count Nefaria and Madam Masque in the former central Europe. According to the report when they returned, both criminals had escaped through a dimensional portal. Perhaps it made sense that there was an odd spike in energy in that area; but why would another spike show up in another part of the world at around the same time?

She remembered seeing this energy spike when it occurred. Not too long after she questioned Sailor Mercury in the corridors of the Crystal Palace and told her all about the occurrence. She took a moment to think of her wise mentor, the lovely blue Ice Warrior she felt very close to. It didn't seem likely it was something the smart Sailor would simply brush off. Sailor Mercury had been working a lot at the hospital. She had asked Sailor Ceres to take over the duties of watching and monitoring the world with 'Crystal', so it was possible that she just hadn't had the time to figure out what this energy had meant.

Sailor Ceres had forgotten about the issue some time back; figuring if it was an issue, Sailor Mercury would deal with it or inform her. It seemed a little odd that nothing had come of it yet. Of course the older Sailor was busy, but it wasn't every day there was a sudden rise in energy in some part of the world.

The pink haired Sailor put her finger to her chin in deep thought. Usagi, Tera, Sailors Palas, Vesta, Juno, and Saturn were supposed to be hanging out right now. Had Sailor Mercury not been called in to work, she would be with them now. She enjoyed giving into her teenage whims but she felt like a private investigator as she stared at the long list of paper in her hands. Mercury hadn't had a chance to deal with this curious report, perhaps Ceres would now.

Suddenly, there was a loud beep on the super computer. Sailor Ceres discarded the reports and rushed to the large screen. She pressed a button on the crystalline control panel so that the screen popped up in front of her as a large hologram. It showed a large map of Crystal Tokyo and just outside the city's boarders, it showed a strange increase in energy. The readings were identical to the ones she had just been looking at on the record papers. It was just like the scene she had seen while the older Sailors were dealing with the Maggia. The exact same energy spike! This time it was just outside Crystal Tokyo!

There was no time to waste! She threw her book and bag somewhere on the floor beside her, knocked it over in her sudden panic, and pulled up her white gloves. She rushed out of the room and began to make her way to the outskirts of Crystal Tokyo.

Sailor Mars sat outside in the grass. The hot sun felt incredible on the fire warrior's skin. Michael Morbius sat in front of her. The young scientist had asked her if she would join him in the fields outside of Crystal Tokyo while he gathered some herbs and plants for his biomedical experiments. He had once been a Nobel Prize winning biochemist and self-taught naturopath before the Great Sleep. Nowadays, he worked at the hospital under Sailor Mercury and had picked up his old vice, studying plants and herbs to learn their potential healing effects on human ailments.

Being outside and exploring nature was something that he truly enjoyed. It felt so good to sit out in the sun again. His many years under Norman Osborn's thumb as a vampiric creature made it impossible for him to feel the shining warmth on his skin.

He turned his head and risked a glance over at Sailor Mars. From the very moment he had laid eyes on her, he had found her to be the most beautiful and exquisite human being he had ever seen. However, he still had yet to tell her. He remembered that first moment as clear as glass. He had still been one of Osborn's evil lackeys. He had been sent to Crystal Tokyo to attack her and assist in capturing her and the other sailors. He had broken into the temple, hypnotized her, and had even prepared to bite the horrified sailor. He remembered the talking black cat, Luna, being there, with the crescent moon on her forehead, who had tried everything she could to do to stop him.

He had stopped though; but it wasn't because of the hissing cat and her sharp claws. It was the brilliant violet eyes of Sailor Mars staring at him, curious and blank from his hypnosis. He couldn't take his eyes off her and temporarily lost his concentration. Immediately, the bright warrior took the chance to attack him. He avoided her offense and ran out of the shrine. He couldn't hurt such an incredible and beautiful creature! As embarrassed as he was, maybe he could help capture a different warrior and someone else would take care of her.

When Norman Osborn was defeated, he was taken into custody, and eventually cured by the Sailors. He had tried to redeem himself for those past sins. In regards to Sailor Mars however: he tried to avoid her and not make his feelings for her known, even after Sailor Mercury appointed him as one of her scientific team members and Neo-Queen Serenity cleansed him of all his evil impurities.

While he had made several moves to get close to the raven-haired Sailor, he had never made his strong emotions towards her known. He had begun spending a little bit of time at the Hikawa Crystal Shrine she owned and even began participating in her yoga and meditation lessons. He managed to have a few conversations with her during the rare times when she was by herself, usually asking about the martial arts training she was conducting with the other Sailors, or commenting on general stuff such as the weather.

Today, he finally had managed to ask Sailor Mars if she would join him for a visit outside the city limits. She spent a lot of time cooped up at the Temple and didn't get enough time outside or to herself. She was so selfless and helped a lot of people, while focusing solely on her role as a Spiritual Leader and Temple Maiden. He desperately wanted to give her a chance to get away from all that, even if it was only for a little while. Whether she realized it was a date or not didn't matter to him. Just spending time alone with her was wonderful enough.

He turned back to the ground underneath him and finished plucking the last of the wild purple flowers at his feet. He stood up and felt the bones in his stiff back snap back into alignment. Looking over at Sailor Mars again, he walked over towards her with two small bouquets in each hand. One was a collection of samples he was going to test when he went back to his lab at the hospital. The other, he wanted to give to the 'apple of his eye'.

Sailor Mars sat in the grass, her long legs folded beneath her short red skirt. The tips of her long black hair trailed behind her as it lightly danced in the wind. Michael's heart seemed to skip a beat as he took a seat next to her. He held the bouquet in his left hand out in front her.

She looked at them curiously, "what's this?"

"I don't need every flower for testing," he said with a smile, "perhaps you could put them around the Temple."

"Thank you!" She cooed, bringing the flowers closer to her face. "I'll put them somewhere special. And make sure Luna doesn't eat them. She may be a guardian, but she's still a cat!" She giggled at her comment.

Michael smiled at her childlike appreciation. He turned to his other bouquet of flowers beside him and began pulling off petals, seeds, and stems. He put each of them in small bags and then the bags into his work satchel. "You know…" he said slowly, keeping his eyes on his work and not daring to look at her. "I brought you here because I wanted to tell you something…" he drew a deep breath and held it, trying to muster the strength to tell her everything about how he felt about her.

"Uh!" Sailor Mars shouted, throwing the flowers she held onto the ground. Her hands shot up to her temples and forehead and her entire body seized up in pain.

"What's wrong?" Michael shouted, forgetting his work and turning to her.

The wave of dark energy assaulted her. Something was happening, something bad! An evil presence was appearing nearby. Whatever it was, it was something strong enough to make her psychic senses react sharply. "Something's happening," she groaned between gritted teeth.

Suddenly, a female scream sounded nearby.

Iris hadn't noticed the portal that opened a short distance in front of her. She was so close to Crystal Tokyo that nothing else but that precipice of peace was the center of her focus. She climbed a grassy hill and as she neared the top, she heard a strange sound. It had a metallic twang to it. When she reached the top of the hill, she saw what it was.

A man with short black hair and goatee was crouching down. He was wearing red and black pants and a sleeveless shirt that had an oriental look. He was playfully twirling a large dagger on the ground like a top, catching it before it fell down and spinning it again while holding a matching dagger in his other hand. That had been the strange sound she had heard. As she got closer, he tilted his head to look at her and the blood in her veins immediately ran cold. His right eye and the area of his face around it had been replaced with a solid red eye and metal plate. Iris immediately remembered a movie that she and her brother had watched when they were younger: about a killer robot that looked very similar to this man. The man stared at her for a few more seconds before standing up. As he did so, he grasped the daggers in his hands before twirling them around like some old western cowboy. In one smooth motion, he bent down and put both blades into the hoisters at the outside of each ankle.

Iris felt the feeling of terror envelop her. She had always known that Negonall wasn't going to just let her go. The fear that they would find her and take her back was something that she had constantly been living with ever since she escaped. Now, with possible safety being only mere steps away, they had caught up to her and she had let her guard down. She had been prepared for her journey to be over, and now her own overconfidence had gotten the better of her.

There was a brief pause as both Iris and the dangerous looking man stared at each other. She weighed her options quickly in her head. She could try to take this person on but she had never seen this man before and thus did not know what he was capable of. She couldn't risk being recaptured and taken back to Negonall, not with Crystal Tokyo right there. Her only hope was to somehow reach the city limits and pray that the city's guards, police force, or whatever would protect her.

Without hesitating, she took off into a run, running down the other side of the hill towards the city. She heard the footsteps behind her, but ignored them. She couldn't lose her focus on her pursuer catching up to her. Her only objective was getting to the city by any means necessary.

Suddenly, she felt something catch her foot and she began to stumble forward. A loud scream escaped her lips as she tumbled forward and her head rolled towards her chest. In the split second that her eyes saw the ground underneath her, she took in the image of one of the man's daggers embedded in the ground at her feet. He must have thrown it around her body to trip her. Who was this guy?

Iris hit the ground hard. Her chin bounced off the ground, sending waves of pain from her jaw down her spine. She saw black spots dance around her vision and her body refused her orders to get up quickly and keep moving. Somewhere close behind her, she could hear the sound of the man's heavy footsteps as he snapped branches and moved rocks with his approach.

"The Master wants you alive; but he didn't say what condition you had to be in," a thick Australian male voice sounded behind her.

She forced herself to turn around to look at the monstrous hulk of a man that was coming at her. In her stunned state, she saw something that made her fear and terror multiply. Beside him, a slightly smaller humanoid in a black and white uniform stood. His skin was pale and wrinkled, and the more Iris looked at him the more terrifying this creature seemed. He was bald with razor sharp teeth sticking from his mouth. He look like one of the many demon types she had seen in Negonall but for the life of her, she couldn't remember the name of them. He spat out a few words in some strange language that not even she could understand.

The man with the Australian accent brought his hand up to his right eye. Iris stared at it and immediately recognized what he was about to do. Her initial impression of it had been correct in that it was machine based. It looked like some sort of mechanical cybernetic eye that a robot might have. It began to glow brighter in the metal casing as she stared at it. She immediately pushed herself up and ran. A bright red laser beam landed right beside her feet. She jumped forward and fell into a roll, doing all she could to get away from the dangerous attack. Another blast impacted near her and the ground exploded upon contact, making her second evasive roll far more painful than she had wanted it to be.

She was slow to get back to her feet following the roll and she just barely had the time to comprehend the cyborg man's presence beside her. The large man stepped up to her and stood over her for a second. He then kicked the side of her head with his boot and sent it smashing against a rock on the ground beside her. The world immediately began to disappear around her and she could hear the monstrous man laugh.

"Easier than I expected it to be," he spat. The red light of his cybernetic eye began to light up again, the only thing Iris could see in the rapidly enclosing darkness. Before she become completely unconscious, she hoped that she would die right there. She'd be damned if she ended up in Negonall again.

"World Shaking!" Came a loud and strong feminine voice. An enormous yellow orb bombarded into the ground and tore it up as it made its way towards the large man. He had a split second to look up before the orb struck him. He gave a single inhuman shriek as the intense energy ball smashed into him and instantly vapourized him. When the resulting light and energy dissipated, the only thing left of him was the metal face plate and red bionic eye.

"Uranus!" Sailor Mars called out as she came running up to the Outer Sailor. The butch blond haired sailor was standing with Hybrid, who was dressed in his royal guard uniform.

"What are you doing here? Did Neptune call you too?" Sailor Uranus sharply asked.

Sailor Mars shook her head. "I was nearby when I heard the scream." She looked over to the blonde girl lying face first in the grass.

"Oh my!" The tiny pink haired Sailor shrieked from behind all of them.

"What are you doing here?" Hybrid asked this time, looking back at the second generation Sailor, "aren't you supposed to be with Tera and the others?"

"I was watching the super computer for Sailor Mercury. Is she okay!?" Sailor Ceres asked in a panicked voice as she made her way past the others. She ran over to the blonde woman on the grass and knelt beside her.

The demon like man screeched a few feet away from them, drawing all of their attention back to the attacker. He began to near the young Sailor and incapacitated woman unsheathing swords that were built into his forearms. He stopped when he saw the three warriors narrowing their eyes at him. Showing no fear of them, he slid one blade down the side of the other before reversing the gesture with the opposite arms. A small shower of sparks appeared as the organic metal of his blades touched each other. He finished off the display with a fierce roar.

"What are you doing!?" Sailor Uranus shouted at the creature, "we are the warriors of justice!" She immediately took to a fighting pose, showing off her space sword and well defined muscles.

"The warriors of love! We will punish you!" Sailor Mars joined in, stepping beside Uranus to also take her pose.

The demon man drooled angrily, baring his teeth at the two women shouting at him. The mouth easily covered half of its face and its design was similar to the one Hybrid had worn in his former identity of Carnage and, more recently, the black synthetic symbiote created by Norman Osborn.

Hybrid stepped forward and reached to his belt. He pulled out the Sword of Gaia and held it out so its blade glimmered in the bright sun. "Ahhh, a sword wielder, eh?" He said with confidence, moving past the Sailors who were still ready for attack. "Let's see you take on a pro!"

Hybrid made a quick slash, happily accepting the block the demon man made with one of its arm swords. He quickly dived and parried, his feet moving gracefully like the skilled sword master he had become. All of his years using his various symbiotic weapons had prepared him to expertly wield this amazing weapon he had been gifted with. He made for another attack, only slightly wounding the demon with a graze to its side. He didn't want to seriously hurt him as he wanted to capture it and interrogate it later. He could tell that this wasn't a random act and if they could learn something from this creature, it would be to their advantage.

It quickly became clear that the creature had some martial arts skill. As it traded blows with Hybrid, it would throw perfectly executed high snap or front kicks at him in addition to the various types of punches, jumps, and occasional leg sweep. It was also very aggressive in its attack, coming at Hybrid and throwing strike after strike in rapid succession, barely giving Hybrid time to counter or prepare an offensive on his own.

While the battled raged between the two combatants, Sailor Uranus and Mars turned their attention to the other aspect of the encounter. They both hurried over to Sailor Ceres and the young blonde girl. The girl had clearly taken a painful hit to the head. Bright blood was already oozing from a break in her skull. Sailor Uranus kept an eye on the sword fight behind them, grinding her teeth as she watched. She didn't like this: a monster so close to Crystal Tokyo.

"Is she okay?" Sailor Mars asked, afraid to touch the girl. She knew if the young girl had suffered any brain or spinal trauma, even the slightest movement to her body could cause even more long lasting effects or even fatal ones. Sailor Mercury had told her this more than enough times; she was to refrain from rolling over an incapacitated victim with a clear or suspected brain injury.

"I don't know," Sailor Ceres said, looking over the scrawny blonde woman with a look of pity.

A few feet away from them, Michael Morbius came running into view. "Here," he said when he reached them. He held out two blue flowers, one for Sailor Mars and one for Sailor Ceres.

"What are these for?" Sailor Mars asked curiously, taking the flower she was offered.

"They're natural healing aids," he said taking out a small bundle of the same flower and gently pressing them against the wound in the blonde girl's head. "You know a few healing prayers, right?" Sailor Mars nodded, "maybe that will help. Hold the flowers over the more serious cuts on her arms and legs, and Mars, recite some prayers." Together, Michael and the two Sailors held the blue flowers over the girl's more serious injuries. Sailor Mars began to chant some of the prayers she had learned many years ago at her grandfather's temple. She prayed that Michael's plan would work. Either way, she was glad that he was there. He was practically a medical doctor and surely he knew what he was doing.

A short distance away, Hybrid stood in a defensive pose. He was keeping his body upright and firm but, in reality, it was taking everything inside him to control the amount of pain he was in. The creature was stronger than he looked. It had managed to land some direct punches to his ribs that he had felt through the symbiotic armour and he was sure that one or more of them were cracked, judging from the sharp pang he felt every time he took a breath.

Across from him, his demonic looking adversary was down on one knee and was bleeding all over. Hybrid had given it shallow cuts along the bare flesh and muscles the white ninja uniform left exposed. Red blood was spilling down onto the green grass underneath it. The cuts definitely weren't deep enough to be fatal; but seeing the blood and hearing the sharp cries of anguish made Hybrid confident that the battle was his.

He had to end this quickly. During the battle, the creature had been retracting and extending his blades, hitting Hybrid a few times with bare knuckles or causing flesh wounds along the armour with the tips of his blades. Hybrid could only guess that this was the creature's way of trying to catch him off-guard. He had the notion of getting him to expect a simple punch when he would pop out one of his blades and surprise him with a fatal jab, slash, or stab. That made this creature unpredictable and the longer this battle went on, the more likely it would succeed in that strategy.

"Finish him off already!" Sailor Uranus yelled, the impatience was clear in her voice.

Hybrid did not reply back, keeping his eyes squarely on the monster. He dodged another attack from the creature as it lunged at him, both blades extended. He crossed his blade across his body to block the downward slashes of the creature. It landed and pushed its body weight against the defensive force that Hybrid was excluding. Both warriors were in a stalemate as neither of their weapons could break through the other.

Hybrid didn't like this in the slightest. He was too close to this monster and he didn't know all of its attacks. It had been a long time since Hybrid had gotten to participate in a _real_ sword fight and now he was facing something that had skill that matched his own. Most of the villains he faced during missions wielded guns, which were dangerous because they didn't require much skill to operate.

"Hurry up!" Sailor Uranus huffed, narrowing her eyes to show that she was being serious.

Hybrid gritted his teeth but, again, didn't break his focus to verbally acknowledge her comment. It was true, that Neo-Queen Serenity had disallowed any human killing under any circumstances but this creature clearly wasn't from Earth. However, he still wanted to try and take it alive just in case they could learn of an impending attack that might be occurring.

With the monster's face inches from his own, staring at him over the crossed blades of their weapons as they both struggled for leverage, he sized up his opponent and his options. He was aware that the alien within him was much stronger than anyone else he had faced in the past and could finish this battle in no time, if he decided to. If he did knock out his adversary and bring him to be cleansed it wouldn't have done much good.

To ensure the safety of the people of Crystal Tokyo, this evil demon before him would always be a security risk and it would be unfair to believe that Neo-Queen Serenity would have the time to cleanse this creature, himself, and his family regularly for the rest of eternity. He gave silent apologies to the royal house and any innocent people that would be affected by his actions; but killing this creature was his only option.

"My blades will find your heart, Knight!" The creature roared at him, surprising Hybrid and the others near them that it could speak Japanese.

Not betraying his reaction to that unexpected development, Hybrid stared directly into the creature's black eyes. "Not today, monster," he said with both confidence and determination. It was time to end this.

'_My friend, I need your strength.' _Hybrid silently asked the entity that he shared his body with.

In response to his request, the organic armour around his forearms and legs began to swirl and change. Tiny tendrils appeared along the surface of his armour as the muscles in those areas quickly received additional strength. The sudden sight of the strange tiny tentacles drew the attention of the creature for a second. That was the moment Hybrid needed.

With a great boost of strength, Hybrid pushed his body weight and augmented strength from the symbiote against the creature. With it temporarily distracted by his symbiote's visual display, it was caught off-balance and staggered back a foot or two. Hybrid pressed his advantage by placing a swift front kick into the creature's mid-section, pushing it back even further from him. The creature's arms flayed wildly as it tried to regain its equilibrium.

Planting his feet, Hybrid lunged forward and drove the blade of his weapon through the monster's abdomen, the tip of the blade exiting out of it back. The creature stopped moving and looked down at the blade impaling its body. Hybrid extracted the sword but kept his eyes solely on the creature. It dropped down to its knees, its hands covered the spot where it had been mortally wounded but it didn't continue to fall. It switched its attention between the injury in its chest and the person that inflicted it. If this thing had a soul, the gestures could be interpreted as asking 'why?'

Realizing that its strength was rapidly leaving him, the demon tried to strike one more time. It threw itself up onto its feet and charged at Hybrid with his twin forearm blades extended. Hybrid was anticipating this, sensing that the creature was a warrior at heart and would go fighting rather than bleeding to death in the long grass.

In response to the monster's charge, he parried to the right and lunged as the creature passed by him. The Sword of Gaia penetrated the creature through the chest as it turned to follow its opponent's evasive action. Just like before, the blade exited out its back. Red blood covered the sword and the demon looked down again to see the sword's metal sticking through him again. Hybrid gritted his teeth and placed both hands on the handle of the sword.

He exchanged one last look with the creature. It wailed and roared in pain and anger at being defeated by a human. Without wasting any more time or prolonging this poor creature's pain, he drove the sword upwards, slicing up through the monster's body until the sword erupted from the crown of its skull. The monster became quiet and, a second later, its body now nearly cut in two, fell backwards onto the ground.

Satisfied that the creature was indeed dead, Hybrid scanned the area around them in case there were more attackers than just these two. Seeing no other threats, he created a cloth from the symbiotic armour covering his right side and ran it over his sword's blade, wiping it clean from the disgusting thick crimson fluid. He then turned and gave Sailor Uranus a narrow-eyed stare.

"Happy now?" He said.

Sailor Uranus nodded once and then turned back to the girl on the ground, Michael, and the other two Sailors. Hybrid sheathed his sword and made his way to the group. "Who is she?" He asked.

"I don't know," Sailor Ceres responded, "Crystal recorded a strange energy spike. I think it was recognizing another dimensional portal opening, at least when I talked to Sailor Mercury that was her theory; but she hasn't had a chance to get a positive conclusion."

"I think I felt a portal open with my psychic senses," Sailor Mars stated, still holding her blue flower over a large scrap on the young girl's body.

"Neptune said she saw a girl in her mirror when she called us. Remember Hybrid?" Sailor Uranus said slowly.

Hybrid rubbed his chin, thinking back to the frantic communicator call that had led him and Sailor Uranus to this spot. It was a good thing Sailor Neptune had called them, this girl wouldn't have stood a chance; not unconscious anyway. "Do you know who those guys were?"

All of them answered in a collective no. They all stood over the girl. Her braided blonde hair was so beautiful as it laid along her back. She looked a bit sickly and scrawny, as if she had been through a hard time for a very long time.

"Was Neptune able to reach Sailor Mercury?" Sailor Ceres asked.

"No, her communicator was turned off; which she only does when she's in surgery or in the middle of a delicate experiment."

"Well, we can't leave this girl out here until she becomes available again. She could be in great pain or die if we do," Sailor Mars flatly stated.

"We should get her to the hospital, as soon as possible," Michael said, "I will stabilize her head and neck. Hybrid, Uranus, Mars, you need to support her legs, arms, and back while we carry her."

They all nodded. " I will go inform Neo-Queen Serenity," Sailor Ceres said.

Everyone agreed to the plan, and Sailor Ceres stayed to help the others pick up the wounded woman. They slowly and very carefully rolled her over, making sure Morbius' flowers remained on the wounds that they were treating. When she was fully on her back, Hybrid's grip on her legs tightened and his body flinched. A sharp gasp escaped his lips as his eyes became fixated on the young woman's face. The others felt his sudden movement and turned to look at him. The look on his face was blank and the colour in his cheeks seemed to drain away. By all appearances, it looked like he had seen a ghost.

"Hybrid? Are you ok?" Sailor Ceres quietly asked.

"Do you know her?" Sailor Mars inquired, trying to lock her violet eyes with his to find her answer.

Hybrid didn't register either of their questions. He was focused solely on the young woman and how her appearance had changed. Two questions fought for dominance in his mind as he struggled to comprehend what he was seeing.

'_It can't be her, can it?'_

'_She can't still be alive, not after all this time?'_

**End of Chapter 5**


	7. Hospital Heartache!

**Chapter 6**

"So… this is Hybrid's sister?" Sailor Venus asked, finally breaking the tense silence in the waiting room.

"Apparently… " Sailor Mars replied quietly.

Sailor Venus looked to Sailor Uranus who was leaning against the opposite wall across the hallway of the Crystal Tokyo General Hospital, standing with her arms crossed. Sailor Neptune was standing next to her, holding on to her lover trying to gain any comfort she could while waiting for something else to happen. The short blonde haired sailor looked up at her, giving a single nod before tilting her head back towards her lover's. This was the simple confirmation Sailor Venus needed and gave further indication that what happened outside the city's limits had been a very tense occurrence.

She had gotten a call from Sailor Ceres on her communicator, letting her know what happened. She had left her device in the locker of the recreation center that she ran and didn't receive the initial call from Sailor Neptune. She had immediately dropped everything and rushed over to hospital, arriving a few minutes after Iris had been situated in the hospital bed. It seemed so strange to her that, this event, only a few hours ago would lead them to discover that Hybrid's sister, Iris, was alive this entire time.

Sailor Venus looked back through the large window, studying the unconscious figure as she lay under the white cotton sheets of her hospital bed. Her face was covered in scars and a large yellowish bruise was clearly visible on her chin. The girl looked so sickly and weak with the white wrap around her head to cover the gash. She was wearing a simple white hospital gown, the usual attire for patients. The hospital was always a perfect temperature, it was a bright place, much unlike the hospitals of old, but with the situation at hand it very much felt like the terrifying waiting room Sailor Venus remembered from her youth. She couldn't see the girl's legs but her arms were resting on top of the sheets at her sides. From what she could see, they were covered in dozens of puckered scars, some old and some that looked very recent. The ones that looked old had clearly not healed very well.

"Her body is like a road map of pain," Sailor Venus whispered. Her eyes filled with tears and she had to look away. Her long blond hair whipped around her face as she moved over to the chairs. "What could have happened to her?"

Sailor Mars also pulled herself away from the grim tableau and sat beside her friend. They wrapped their arms around each other. "I don't know. Hopefully we'll find out when she wakes up and be able to help her get better." Sailor Mars quietly said, trying to sound as sincere as possible for the sake of her friend.

Sailor Ceres had run the entire way to the Crystal Palace once she and the others split off in different directions. A speech had slowly knit itself together in her mind, as she huffed and puffed towards her destination. The Royal Guards guarding the magically invisible entrance to the Palace recognized her as she approached and gave her unrestricted access when they saw the look on her face and the frenzied manner at which she came towards them. She raced through the interior of the Palace, knowing the way perfectly, since she had used it many times before. When she was gained access to the throne room, she didn't stop running. She threw herself down at the bottom of the first flight of stairs that lead up to the two thrones where the kind and benevolent rulers looked down at her. Sailor Ceres' dramatic entrance had immediately drawn their attention and her expression reflected the great concern they both shared as to what would have caused the need for such behavior. They both calmly waited as they gave the young sailor a chance to catch her breath.

"Outside the city," she managed; taking a deep breath as her heart rate slowly returned to normal, "there was an attack. I saw an energy spike on Crystal while I was keeping an eye on it and Sailor Neptune saw something in her Deep Aqua Mirror. She called everyone but only Hybrid, Sailor Uranus, Sailor Mars, Michael Morbius, and I showed up. Both enemies that were present were destroyed. They were too dangerous to try and bring back to be cleansed without risking the safety of both you and the people of the city."

Neo-Queen Serenity nodded in understanding. "Thank you for telling me, Sailor Ceres. We will arrange a meeting to figure this out, in case any more enemies appear. Can you tell us anything more about them?"

"They both seemed skilled in martial arts," Ceres said. "One of them appeared human but he had advanced looking robotics in its head, like some kind of cyborg Sailor Venus once told me about. The other was some sort of creature, definitely not from Earth. The energy spike that Crystal recorded was most likely another portal, like the one that Madame Masque used to escape from us. I would be confident in saying that these new enemies used a portal to get her as well."

Neo-Queen Serenity nodded and then began to turn to one of the servants close to her, indicating that she wanted a message to be given to the other Sailors. Sailor Ceres stood upright and cleared her throat, getting the queen's attention again, "there's more, your highnesses."

Neo-Queen Serenity turned her head back around and focused on the young pink haired woman.

"There was a young woman who was being pursued by these two individuals. We managed to save and protect her; although, she did suffer some serious injuries during the battle. I'm sure she knows something about the energy spikes and the existence of these new enemies," Sailor Ceres said with a measure of confidence.

"That is good to hear. Has she been taken to the hospital to be treated?" Neo-Queen Serenity asked, with a tone of concern in her voice.

"Yes, my queen, but there's something else you ought to know," Sailor Ceres flatly stated.

There was a moment of silence while Sailor Ceres tried to form the words inside her head. She wasn't sure what the significance of this girl really wants, just that she was related to Hybrid. By his and Sailor Mars' reactions she knew it was serious, and she wasn't sure what to expect of their kind ruler. Above her, Neo-Queen Serenity waited patiently for her to say something.

"Hybrid said her name was Iris. And that she was his sister," Sailor Ceres slowly said, her voice letting it be known that it hadn't fully sunk in with her yet.

Both the Queen and King gasped, their hands flying between the thrones to grasp each other. Neo-Queen Serenity's eyes began to fill with tears as she said, "you must inform the others at once. Get to the hospital and support him in any way that you can. Though I suppose you, and the other second generation Sailors should wait somewhere else. Except Tera, she needs to be with her father."

Sailor Ceres nodded and began to turn to leave with a flourishing bow. Neo-Queen Serenity called out to her and she turned around and waited for her Queen to say whatever else she had to. "You and the rest of the younger Sailors are not aware of this but it is important that you do. Hybrid lost his sister long before the Great Sleep, even before he joined the Sailor team. It was unknown where she had disappeared too and he spent years travelling the world looking for her."

The young sailor-suited woman clasped a hand to her heart. No wonder Hybrid and Sailor Mars had such a severe reaction. Where had this Iris been? Who really knew what happened to her! Worse of all, it seemed there were people after her, dangerous people!

The hospital machines were giving a series of melancholy beeps, letting everyone know that the young blonde woman was still alive. Outside in the waiting room, Sailor Mars had taken the liberty to tell in full detail to Sailor Uranus, Neptune, and the others about the story of how Hybrid had lost his sister and became the hero, Carnage, in her memory. She described how he spent years looking for her, following every lead and clue he could find. This was why it was such a serious and emotional moment for him. Sailor Uranus and Neptune held each other while standing by the glass window of the hospital room.

Inside the hospital room, Hybrid remained seated beside the hospital bed. He had not moved from that spot since Iris had been taken out of surgery. The medical advancements that Sailor Mercury, her team of doctors, and scientists had made were truly astonishing. A surgery that would have taken hours to preform could now be done in half the time or more. They had rushed into the operating room as soon as they had arrived and she was out and resting in the bed in less than three hours.

However, that was little comfort to him as he looked at her, quietly sleeping with bandages around her head and arms. He couldn't stop staring at the various scars and bruises across her body. The sight of them filled him with both sadness and rage. Someone had done those to her and heaven help them if he ever found out whom.

In the silence of the room, his mind drifted back again for the umpteenth time, to the events that occurred just after he had slain the creature with the forearm blades.

Michael and the other Sailors had turned the girl over so that they could better transport her to the hospital since they could reach Sailor Mercury. The moment he had seen her face, his heart had stopped and he couldn't stop the small gasp that escaped his lips as his lungs seized. The others stopped what they were doing to look at him. He wasn't aware of it at the time, but he was panting as he couldn't get his breathing cycle correct and his face was quickly becoming a sickly pale, his blue eyes never leaving the young woman's face. Dozens of memories had flashed before his eyes.

He remembered that fateful day like it was yesterday. Iris had saved all of her money, everything that she had earned from her babysitting and working at a local retail store, to join her friend on a European trip where they would hike across various countries and visit several famous landmarks, museums, and the like. He couldn't tell her to stay, not with their mother poisoning herself out of grief over the loss of her husband, their father. Iris had always been a happy and free spirit and it was in her nature to want to spread her wings and fly.

When her friend had pulled up into the driveway, he had given her a long goodbye and watched her get in the car with her friend. What was that friend's name? The curly brunette Iris had always been friends with. He had encountered her at some point after Iris had disappeared which had led him to discover the terrifying truth as to what had exactly happened.

"Hybrid, are you alright?" Sailor Mars' concerned voice was what had brought him out of his shellshock. .

"Do you know her?" Sailor Ceres had asked. Her hand had stretched out as if to offer some comfort.

"It's her, Iris," he had managed to breath out, his throat making it hard to form words. "It's my sister."

Sailor Mars had immediate gasped and threw her hands to her mouth. Looking back now, he could tell that the significance of that revelation immediately hit her as it did him. When they first met him, he had gone by the name Carnage, Usagi had met up with him to ask him about his obvious attraction to Sailor Jupiter, then known as Makoto Kino. Without knowing the communicators were on and that everyone could hear them, he told the story of how his sister had left Canada never to return again. She had gone missing, their mother blamed him and drove him away, and he became the masked vigilante, Carnage, as he looked for her; and later he became an agent for the Illuminati Council.

"How is that possible?" Sailor Mars had managed to get out. Sailors Uranus, Ceres, and Michael all looked at both of them questioningly, having never heard the story. However, now was not the time to go over it. They had to get her to the hospital before her various wounds became even worse. The raven-haired sailor shook her head, knowing they could figure those things out later. "Let's get her to the hospital. Sailor Ceres run and tell Neo-Queen Serenity everything that has happened. She needs to know about this so that she can prepare in case there are more attacks. Perhaps she can help us learn something about our enemies and... Iris."

Sailor Ceres had immediately nodded to the order and began to run towards the city's center. She made her way to the Crystal Palace, while the others gently resumed picking up the blonde woman and began to carry her carefully to the hospital. She was so light and it had become clear that the four of them weren't needed to carry her, but they still had to stabilize her head and the rest of her tiny frame to prevent any further trauma.

During the trek and the further they came into the city, Iris' body had begun to change. When they had first picked her up, she had had a few cuts, scrapes, and the gashing head wound; but overall her pale yet still tanned skin had been relatively free of blemishes. As they had been moving, harsh scars and old wounds began to appear on all visible parts of her body. She no longer looked like the girl they had rescued, but a beaten figure that had been used and abused for many years.

The sudden transformation had caused Hybrid to temporarily go into shock. He was afraid to continue and became unsteady as he supported her. He had taken a sharp breath and successfully resisted the urge to pull away as tears had formed in his eyes.

In response, Sailor Mars had let go of her grip on the body from the other side, Sailor Uranus adjusting her position as she did so to keep the body stable. Sailor Mars put her arms around Hybrid, "don't worry," she whispered, "we'll take care of her, just stay with us." Hybrid shook against her and then gave a slight nod before Sailor Mars went back to stabilizing the girl's back with Sailor Uranus. "Michael, do you know what's happening?" She gestured to the large puckering scars appearing all over the tiny girls frame.

"I've never seen this event before," he said, keeping his head up and eyes focus on their destination. "However, some of the wounds I have seen before. When I was assisting some of colleagues at their hospitals, some of their patients came in with scars and blemishes much like these. At first, they wouldn't tell us what happened but we later learned that they had been involved in illegal underground fight clubs."

Sailor Mars and Uranus had nodded, continuing to hold the body and walk slowly to the hospital. Hybrid was in the rear, holding onto the young woman's legs, following their lead. He was still in shock. He had kept his eyes down, terrified to look at his battered and scarred sister. His mind had been completely blank as he continued to move slowly and automatically with the small group towards the hospital.

The sudden movement at the room's doorway caught his attention and broke him out of his thoughts and memories. He turned his head and saw his beautiful wife and daughter slowly enter the room, both set of emerald eyes switching between him and the young wife quietly sleeping beside him.

Sailor Jupiter took a position beside Hybrid as he stood up to greet them. She put her arms around him and quietly hugged him as she tried to comfort her shell shocked husband, who only stared into space and maintained his tight grip on his sister's hand.

Tera, the stubborn and playful woman that she was, was unsure of what to do and was unable to keep still. What was going to happen now? Her father had often told her stories about her biological aunt when she was younger but always avoided the question when she had asked where she was or why she had never met her. As she had gotten older, she had come to accept that her Aunt Iris had probably died long before she had been born in some tragic manner, judging from her parents' reactions. .

As the three of them kept a constant victual over her aunt Iris for the next few hours, her level of comfort began to reach its breaking point. She found herself needing to leave the room to collect herself and not break down or act out to express her level of discomfort with the situation. She would often go back into the room and try to comfort her father and mother, but the atmosphere was too intense for her to handle for very long. She didn't want to be rude and disrespect her parents, but she couldn't stay there. She began playing a role of the temporary distracter. She would often bring snacks to the waiting room for the other Sailors who were there, whether they wanted them or not. Her mother had taught her that food was usually and traditionally the best way to comfort people during times of grieving.

Sometimes when her emotional stress nearly reached its boiling point, she would go outside and sit in the hospital's garden. She needed to be close to the Earth as it was the only thing that would allow her to remain strong and feel whole again. It would give her enough strength to go back inside, however briefly, to try and comfort her family. She would then make another round of handing out food and snacks if there were needed.

Upon Iris' arrival to the hospital, Sailor Mercury had immediately begun running tests as they prepared her for surgery. The gash her head was bad enough that it made her think that it needed serious attention. Her instincts proved to be correct as it was discovered during a CATSCAN that what she had originally believed to be a concussion turned out to be an epidural hematoma, or a buildup of blood, that was forming between the brain and the skull. Iris needed immediate surgery to fix this life-threatening condition; or else the blood pooling would continue to press against her brain tissue, resulting in brain damage and death.

After the surgery was completed, she cleaned the wound and wrapped it with clean bandages. Doctor Curt Connors had been the one to perform the cranial surgery and was greeted by the anxious and worried group when he emerged from the operating room in his scrubs. He quickly filled in Sailor Mercury on the situation and then compassionately let Hybrid know he was going to take care of the young woman and that she was 'out of the woods' so to speak, in terms of immediate danger. He still felt a little saddened that he would have to still move her around to the other rooms of the hospital for additional scans and x-rays to make sure of that promise and to monitor her recovery instead of letting her rest.

As grievous as the occasion was, Dr. Connors couldn't help but be thankful to be working in a hospital again. Before Norman Osborn had injected him with a serum derived from reptile genetics, and he had become The Lizard in order to fight the Sailors, he had been a decorated military doctor. It was definitely a blessing that Sailor Mercury had been able to cure him, give him a bio-metallic prosthetic arm that was light years ahead of anything the United States' military had given him when he first lost his limb, and she gave him a job at the Crystal Tokyo General Hospital.

When the sighs of relief and tense atmosphere surrounding all of them dissipated, Michael Morbius gave Sailor Mars several hugs before leaving her to return to his lab. He pulled Dr. Connors aside before leaving to his lab, which was located in another part of the hospital. The two had become close friends, both grateful to be working at the Hospital in some capacity and, more importantly, for being completely human again. After a kind and emotional chat, Michael left Curt to his work and made his way to the lab downstairs. He still had to test the herbal samples he had been collecting before the incident with Iris and the two male enemies. He was sure that he'd be able to find something in their DNA that could help Hybrid's sister's recovery.

As Michael disappeared around a corner, Sailor Venus stood beside Sailor Neptune and Uranus to look through the glass of the room at Iris as she was surrounded by her brother and his family. Dr. Connors walked past them and into the room. Hybrid instinctively grabbed Iris' hand when he saw him enter the room. Sailor Jupiter turned her body to face him, preparing herself for any news that he may have, whether good or bad. Dr. Connors took a position at the foot of the bed and began to address the both of them.

"I ran some x-rays, another CATSCAN, and a few other tests. It'll be some time before I have the results, but I'll be sure Sailor Mercury will inform you and the rest when the findings come in." He gave a nod giving off the compassionate and professional air of a credible doctor. He then gave each of them a weak smile, letting them know he understood the seriousness of the situation. He then turned and left the room. He looked down at the clipboard in his hands, reading the information on it, as he moved down the hallway.

Several more hours passed and most of Sailors remained in the waiting room. They finally came to the conclusion that this girl was connected to something dangerous could easily be corrupted and they had to prepare for any more attacks that her presence in Crystal Tokyo would, more than likely, cause. Tera had returned from the garden and, just as she had been since she had arrived at the hospital, she began handing everyone cups of hot tea and snacks. Sailor Neptune pointed out that Tera hadn't eaten at all since she arrived. The young girl tried to resist at first but a narrow eyed stare from the aquamarine-haired sailor quickly silenced her. The young brunette grumpily settled down into a chair to eat a pastry and drink some tea.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Sailor Jupiter came out and asked that they come into the hospital room. She had come to the same conclusion as they all had, that Iris was involved in something very dangerous and they needed to know exactly what when she woke up. It would be best if they were all together when that happened. She went on to explain how Hybrid was becoming harder and harder to reach and that, even though he wasn't verbalizing it, she could tell that he was beating himself up for the centuries he had spent not looking for her. He needed to be surrounded by friends right now to give him support.

They all filed into the room, taking posts around the bed and in the few chairs that were present. Tera stood behind her father and put her hands on his shoulders. She wanted, no, she needed to comfort him somehow. Sailor Jupiter sat in a chair beside him and gently placed her hand on his. Both of their hands sat on the bed, covering the tiny scarred hand of Iris. Sailor Venus pulled a chair to the other side of the bed and put her hand on Iris' other hand.

From the doorway, Sailor Mercury appeared. She was dressed in a white lab coat over her sailor uniform. Her light blue Sailor Visor covered her eyes and she was busy pushing buttons on the small super computer in her hands. She looked up and greeted her friends when she fully entered the room.

"Any news?" Sailor Jupiter asked, squeezing Hybrid's hand.

"We got the results back. Where ever she was, she's only aged about fourteen years. However, since she wasn't physically here on Earth, after the Great Sleep, she is still aging at the normal rate. So cleansing her is important, not just for the usual reasons…" she trailed off, not wanting to suggest that Iris may be an enemy.

"So she's thirty years old," Hybrid said. The first thing he had said since he had arrived at the hospital.

"Right," Sailor Mercury said, "but there's more. She has higher energy levels than most normal people. I believe she's been dealing heavily with magic. Dr. Morbius told me about how the scars appeared on her body shortly after she was knocked unconscious," Sailor Mars and Uranus nodded in confirmation of that statement, "I suspect that she has been using magic to hide them and to also heal a lot of broken bones and other wounds. Some of them haven't mended properly. We may need to re-break them so that they can heal correctly."

"Is she in pain?" Hybrid asked. His voice was cold and distant, like he was still lost in his own grief and memories.

"No," Sailor Mercury replied with a shake of the head. "And don't worry. We'll be sure to prescribe her some pain medications during any operations that may occur. She'll be comfortable, I promise you."

Hybrid turned his head back to stare at his sister. No one was sure if he had fully heard what Sailor Mercury had said. The look in his eyes appeared to be distant. Tera kept her arms firmly around him and the others tried to remain as compassionate and strong as they could.

"This is purely up to you, Hybrid," Mercury stated, hoping he would give her some sign that he was listening. "There's no saying when she'll wake up. She is still very weak, it could be days or longer before she wakes up on her own… but I could wake her right now if you would like. It wouldn't be for long though, as she needs to rest. "

Hybrid took a deep breath. All eyes were on him as they waited for his response. The memories of the past were once again haunting him. Shortly before she had disappeared, he had met his symbiote. After she vanished, and their mother had driven him away with her descent in alcoholism and drug abuse, he began searching for his missing sister, creating the persona of Carnage to assist him in that task. He eventually tracked down the brunette friend who was the last person that had seen Iris before she went missing. She had been shell-shocked, almost as much as he was now. She said she didn't remember exactly what had happened, other than that she and Iris had been kidnapped and sold as sex slaves in the human trafficking circles. They were separated by their owner and she hadn't seen her since.

As Carnage, he had scoured the Earth, looking for any signs of her. He questioned and, in some cases, even killed many men in the various slave rings, drug gangs, or any other questionable individual he found that might have even a sliver of information as to where she was being held. Every path he took, even if he felt he was getting close to finding her had always led to a dead end.

When he was later asked to join the Illuminati Council, he put his symbiotic powers to good use by going after global threats as well as the human trash that preyed on the innocent. Using the Council's vast resources, he could easily continue to fight crime while searching for her. After years and years of looking and still not finding her, he very painfully and reluctantly came to the conclusion that she was probably dead and gave up his search for her. She was the only family he had left, and she was now forever lost to him. The pain and feeling of inner emptiness remained with him even after meeting the Sailor Soldiers. A part of him still wanted to resume his search for her; but he couldn't get around to it because of his duties to the world's protection and later his undying love for Sailor Jupiter.

As painful as that decision was, he knew deep down that he couldn't continue spending his life on a futile search. He gave in to his love for Sailor Jupiter, fought alongside her and her friends, started a family, and helped establish the new Earth Kingdom. Things had gone wonderfully for him, he had a wife, a beautiful daughter, and the world was a much better place because of him and the Sailor Soldiers.

But, she had been alive, all this time. Did he give up his search too soon? Could he have saved her if he just kept looking? He ground his teeth together and felt his wife and daughter's hands tighten against him as they felt his body tense. He wanted desperately to go out and find who ever had left these scars on his sister and kill them in the most painful way possible. No, not just kill them, brutally torture them the same ways they had tortured her. He felt his symbiote pulse within him, its true amoral and malevolent nature straining against the magical curse that Neo-Queen Serenity had placed on it to keep it contained. It was ready to carry out the wanted mission of its host, if the opportunity presented itself. Hybrid took another deep breath and gave Sailor Mercury a nod.

"Wake her now. We need to know where she's been, who did this to her, and how to set things right." He calmly stated.

Sailor Mercury set her jaw, slightly concerned about the fierceness she heard in his voice. The medical side of her knew that this wasn't the best course of action, as it could cause a strain on her body that might prove harmful to her. However, the sailor guardian aspect knew he was right. Temporarily waking her now was the better option given the current circumstances. If she could give them information concerning her attackers, they would be better prepared for the next wave of enemies that came to the city looking for her.

She walked around the bed and her friends. From one of her white jacket's front pockets, she pulled out a syringe and stuck it into one of the IV lines going into the girl's body. The golden liquid moved quickly through the tube and into her blood stream. Sailors Mars, Venus, Uranus, and Neptune stood up, readying themselves for any sort of dramatic reaction that Iris might have to the sudden introduction of the chemical in her body. Even Tera took a small step away from her father and prepared herself for the possible scene about to occur.

Everyone held their breaths and as they all waited for the young woman to wake up. The machines she was connected too began to record a faster breathing cycle and her heart rate sped up as well. Louder gasps of air could soon be heard and she let out a slight moan shortly afterwards. Her eyelids tightened and her face muscles scrunched together, as if she was just waking up from a long nap, which she was, or perhaps afraid to open them and see the environment she was in.

Her hand splayed open under Hybrid's, the fingers gripping the white bed cover underneath her. After a second or two, her hand jerked away from his and the other from Sailor Venus' as she wanted to get away from their touch. Hybrid hesitated in letting go of her hand, not wanting to let her go. Sailor Jupiter reached over and lifted his reluctant hand, breaking the physical connection between them in the hopes of making the girl feel comfortable enough to open her eyes.

A few more seconds of silence passed. Very slowly her lids opened, the long blonde lashes uncovered the sapphire eyes underneath. She slowly glanced around the room as a confused look crossed her face. She held her breath and her body tensed as it became frozen with terror of the situation and the strange people surrounding her. As she continued to stare at the collection of females around her, her eyes landed on Hybrid. Immediately, she recognized the sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. How could she ever forget? He didn't look like he had aged very much and he was wearing a black and red suit of armour, making him look like a medival knight. A tall brunette woman was sitting closely beside him, clutching his hand in a gesture that was clearly full of love and compassion. Standing behind him was a young girl. She looked just like the woman holding his hand, but had a fierce look and her body's posture was tense and rigid. She looked back to Hybrid, her eyes quickly filling up with tears.

"Sean?" Iris said meekly.

Hybrid nodded, his own eyes filling with tears. Iris slowly sat up from the bed, her muscles not reacting as fast as she would have liked. Iris threw her arms over Hybrid's shoulders, pulling him in for a hug. Sailor Jupiter leaned back to allow the private embrace between them to occur.

"I thought I'd never see you again!" Iris sobbed into her brother's neck.

He wrapped his arms gently around her, resisting the urge to grasp her tightly. It looked like he was ready to never let her go and kill anyone that tried to make him. "Me too," he croaked, trying to fight back the ball in his throat.

Iris began to sob, her entire body melting into his. Hybrid tenderly rubbed her back and his hand played with the thick blonde braid that lay atop her spine. The Sailors all quietly watched as this took place. All of them began to cry their own tears as the impact of the emotional scene took their toll on each of them; with two exceptions: Sailor Uranus and Tera. Sailor Uranus held her crying lover close to her body but remained ever ready in case something occurred. Tera fought back her own tears, refusing to cry, and folded her arms across her chest. She cleared her throat hoping to get her father's attention.

"Iris," Hybrid said gently as he pulled away from her and waved an arm towards Sailor Jupiter. "This is my wife, Jupiter. Though we now go by our full titles and ranks, so she is Sailor Jupiter."

Iris's eyes began to water even more. Her face scrunched as she sniffled, the physical toll of her crying beginning to play havoc with her sinuses. Sailor Mercury quickly stepped over and handed her a box of tissues. "You have a wife," Iris said after blowing her nose. She then looked over to the disgruntled teenager behind Hybrid. "So is this your daughter? I… I have a niece?"

Hybrid nodded. He turned his body around and gestured for Tera to come closer. When she did, he pulled her close, putting a loving arm around her waist. "This is Sailor Earth or Tera." The young brunette looked down at the frail scarred woman, biting her lower lip to fight back any emotion. She wanted to look intimidating. If this woman was any threat to her family, she would be the first one to stop her.

"So, I assume you don't go by Sean anymore…" Iris asked, looking away from Tera.

"Hybrid," he said with a small smile.

Iris gave a sweet but weak laugh, like a twinkling of wind chimes. "When we were kids, you always said if you were going to be a superhero you'd take the name Carnage," she mocked, "something about how heroes do as much destruction as the bad guys."

There were a few audible snickers from some of the Inner Sailors. When he first met them and introduced himself to them as Carnage, that exact wording had been his reasoning for taking the name. After his symbiote had taken over and given in to its darker nature he had changed the name to something less sinister. It was a new lease on life and one that he had been enjoying ever since.

"Well… it was Carnage for a long time…" he said with a melancholy grin when the room fell silent again. "But I'll tell you that story another time."

"And I'm Sailor Mercury," the blue haired woman said. She was now at the end of the bed and put a hand on Iris's leg. "I'm also your doctor. We're going to take good care you, Iris."

It felt so odd to hear her own name again. Anne had been one of the only ones, since she'd been kidnapped, that had always called her by her real name. Everyone in Negonall either called her bova, which meant cow, or some other cruel nickname. She didn't know how to respond, even as Sailor Mercury stared at her.

"I'm Sailor Venus," the long blonde said. She sat in the chair on the opposite side of the bed from Hybrid.

"Sailor Mars," the raven haired woman said from her position between Sailor Venus and Mercury. Iris could only smile up at her, unsure of what to say.

"And I'm Sailor Neptune, and this is my lover, Sailor Uranus," the long haired beauty said. She had hair the color of Bermuda water, a crisp bright green-blue. Next to her was Sailor Uranus, a tough and butch looking woman with short blonde hair.

"Uranus?" Iris piped, staring directly at the woman. The woman took a step back, looking concerned that Iris seemed to recognize her. "I have… something…" Iris said grasping for her neck. It was bare, but she continued to grasp at it with a confused look.

"Oh, here," Sailor Mercury said. She swiftly moved to the other side of the room. On a small desk was a pile of clothing. She picked it up and handed it to Iris. "The nurse that undressed you made sure to keep everything here, your bag and shoes are by the floor."

Iris took it with a smile of gratitude and began to file through the airy blue shirt. Beneath it was the pendant she was looking for. She held it up, letting the red and gold metal flicker in the sunlight that shined through the exterior window. "This was given to me when I escaped and found myself in... well Canada, I mean, Canadonia. It's your symbol, for travelers?"

Sailor Uranus seemed a bit awed and embarrassed by the trinket. She bit down on her lips and her eyes actually began to show an emotion other than suspicion. The tough Sailor's exterior was quickly being shattered right in front of everyone. She could only nod in response.

Iris took the chain in her hands and put the trinket over her head and back around her neck. "It seems to have brought me more luck than I ever could have asked for…" she said slowly, looking down at it.

"When did you get here? And how did you end up in Canadonia, I mean," Sailor Jupiter asked, releasing her husband's hand so he could hold Iris' again.

"Uhm… over a month ago I think. Through a portal," Iris said after a brief pause.

"I knew it!" Sailor Mercury said with some uncharacteristic enthusiasm. She pulled out her small compact computer from the front pocket of her white jacket. Without wasting any time, she began typing into it quickly, while the rest of the room's occupants stared at her. "Back when you guys went to Europe to deal with the Maggia," Hybrid, Uranus, and Neptune nodded in confirmation, "Sailor Ceres told me that the Crystal super computer recorded another energy spike in Canadonia at the same time. That must have been the one that Iris used." She typed a few more things into the handheld device. "Mars. You said Sailor Ceres had seen an energy spike on the Super Computer earlier today. Correct?"

"Yea," the black haired maiden replied.

"Did you get here by another portal?" Sailor Mercury asked, glancing up at Iris on the bed.

"No…" she replied, "I came by boat, and then walked from Yokohama to here." There were a few moments of silence while everyone thought. "I bet those two thugs came by portal, though," her eyes narrowed as a few more tears slipped out from the corners. "I didn't even see them. I was so determined to get to Crystal Tokyo that I let my guard down."

The rest of the sailors and Hybrid all nodded as if understanding that the energy spike must have been from the ninja enemies coming by use of a portal.

Iris could feel a sense of confusion growing among her brother and his friends. She sat up a little higher in her bed and gave a deep sigh, "I guess, I should explain everything." She looked down at her right hand on reflex and her eyes widened in horror. She seemed to nearly jump off the bed and immediately tried to cover her arm with her entire body.

"What's wrong?" Hybrid exclaimed with surprise at Iris' unexpected reaction. He let go of Tera and threw his other arm over Iris to protect her.

"My scars," Iris cried. She became hysterical. She pushed Hybrid away from her and grabbed the white blanket at the edge of the bed. She threw it over her entire body and head and balled up into a fetal position underneath it.

"Iris!" Hybrid tried to get through to her. "You're ok. We don't care."

"You're in a safe place," Sailor Jupiter calmly added.

"We all have scars of some sort!" Sailor Venus said. To support her statement, she lifted her leg onto the bed and pointed at the deep circular scar on her upper thigh. It was the same scar Carnage had made centuries ago when he had lost control of his symbiote and turned evil for a brief period of time. It was something that bugged her every so often, but something told her to point it out now. Hybrid looked at her with an apologetic glance and she only shook her head at him, telling him to forget it.

Iris peeked her head out from under the sheets and looked at the Sailor Venus' leg. She slowly pulled the blankets tighter around her before rolling onto her side to make sure it covered all of her and nothing could be seen except her face. "They're not supposed to be there," she cried, muffled by the fabric around her. "They aren't supposed to be seen."

"Iris," Sailor Mercury said, gently putting her hand on Iris' leg. The girl twitched away from her touch, clearly afraid of the interaction. Sailor Mercury pulled her hand away and tried to give her intellectual doctorial tone, "were you using magic to hide them?"

Iris slowly nodded. It was hard to tell that's what she was doing, but the movement under the blanket seemed to give it away. She recoiled her body in a gesture of shame and embarrassment.

"Most magic in Crystal Tokyo gets blocked because of the close proximity of the Silver Moon Crystal, the most powerful magical artifact in the known universe. I wanted to talk to you about that when you had awakened. I suspect that had been the case, so I sent a message to Neo-Queen Serenity asking her to allow your glamour spell to exist uninterrupted. You also have a lot of broken bones, and some of them have mended improperly. We will have to do some procedures at some point to correct them. Okay?" Sailor Mercury said with the tone of a seasoned doctor with a great bedside manner.

Iris nodded her head, showing that she understood.

"When will she be able to hide her scars again?" Hybrid asked, just like the concerned brother he was.

Sailor Mercury shrugged. "I sent the message a few hours ago while she was in surgery. I assume within the hour she'll lift the Crystal's power and we will receive word from her."

"What do we do until then?" Sailor Venus asked, her eyes filling with tears. Sailor Mars stepped forward and put her hands on the blonde's shoulders.

"Iris?" Sailor Mercury gently called; her voice as sweet and tender as she could manage. "Will you talk to us now?"

Iris retreated under the blankets and it was quickly wrinkled by a movement. It was clear that she was shaking her head.

"I need to know who did this to you!" Hybrid prodded. Sailor Jupiter put an arm on her husband's chest, letting him know not to push too hard right now. Iris gave another cry and then curled into an even smaller ball.

"All of us will go to the waiting room," Sailor Mercury said, moving to the door and gesturing for the others to follow her. "Someone will be back to let you know you when you can casts your spells again. Ok?"

From underneath, the blanket moved, showing that Iris nodded.

"You need to talk to us, tell us whatever you can so we can help you. If necessary, afterwards I'll get you a personal psychologist. Ok?" Sailor Mercury calmly added, letting her concern for her patient's mental state be clear.

The blanket moved again, showing that she nodded in understanding.

Sailor Mercury waved everyone to the door. All of them began to file out, but Hybrid remained rooted in his seat. Sailor Jupiter began to tug at his arm, making it clear that it was time to go. Tera remained at the door and watched her parents before turning to walk out.

"Come on Hybrid. She needs some time to herself," Sailor Mercury said.

"Don't worry, honey," Sailor Jupiter said gently, "she's not going anywhere. You can keep an eye on her from the waiting room."

This seemed to finally persuade him and he slowly stood up. He squeezed Sailor Jupiter's hand as tightly as he could. They walked out and Sailor Mercury followed behind them. Hybrid immediately took a post in front of the small glass window that viewed into the room. He kept his eye squarely on the lump under the blanket of the hospital bed.

"She's not going anywhere. She's here and we'll all keep her safe," Sailor Jupiter cooed into her husband's ear. Tera ran back down the hall and came back with a hand full of snacks and a couple cups of tea. Sailor Jupiter took the small cup of steaming hot tea and Hybrid simply ignored the snacks she offered. With a frown of disappointment, Tera ran around to attend to the other Sailors.

"What's wrong with her?" Sailor Venus asked childishly as everyone settled around the waiting room. Even with all the years of wisdom she had, Sailor Venus tended to be a bit naïve and playful. Everyone understood she didn't mean what she asked as anything more than one of concern.

Sailor Mercury shook her head, picking at the fresh baked pastry Tera had given her. "I'm sure it's post-traumatic stress. The sudden sight of the scars was just a trigger."

"She'll be ok though, right?" Sailor Venus asked.

"Of course she'll be ok," Sailor Mars burst. Silly naïve questions, that could often be considered rude, were something Sailor Mars had a hard time dealing with. She was always bit fiery and had spent years fighting with the young Neo-Queen Serenity when she was an air-headed Sailor Moon. She knew Venus hadn't meant anything by it, but it was the fire warrior's habit to point out it was bit rude.

"She should be in time," Sailor Mercury said, ignoring the friendly irritation going on between her friends. She paused as she took in another deep breath. "This is a psychological condition. In most cases, it's not as easily treated as a broken bone. We really don't know where she's been, or what she's been through, it might be a long while before she's well… or ok, for lack of a better word." She cleared her throat and sat down in one of the waiting room chairs.

"We also don't know when the trauma began, let alone what it actually was. It effects everyone differently. Sometimes she may be normal, like what we saw when she first woke up. Other times, she won't be herself and probably react a bit odd, like we just saw. Since she was kidnapped at sixteen, it's very likely she may behave like her sixteen year old self at times. Understand?" Sailor Mercury explained as she looked around the room at her friends and fellow guardians.

Everyone nodded except Hybrid. He could hear everything that was being said, but he was still lost in his own mind. He watched the lump under the blankets through the window. Constantly wishing he had done more. He let her down, he knew it. He couldn't do that to her again, he had to make things right in any way that he could.

**End of Chapter 6**


	8. The Painful Truth

**Chapter 7**

"Iris?" The blue short haired doctor's soft and sweet voice woke Iris from her dreamless sleep.

Iris opened her eyes and was greeted by the white sheen the blanket over her had created. Her hands were sprawled out in front of her, but still completely covered by the blanket. She closed her eyes again. She didn't want to see the puckered scars on her hands and arms. She opened her mouth to give a single audible sound, acknowledging Sailor Mercury's presence.

"Iris," she said again, "Neo-Queen Serenity has sent over the message letting us know that the Silver Moon Crystal's blockage of your personal magic has been lifted. Would you like me to leave so you can hide your scars again?"

"Can… can I take a shower first?" Iris managed weakly. Hiding under the blanket had been a bit more uncomfortable than she had wished. It had been a heat trap, causing her to sweat profusely and, mixed with the hour of crying, she felt even more disgusting.

"I thought you might ask that," Sailor Mercury said, a smile hinting in her voice. "I'm afraid you aren't allowed to shower just yet. The wound itself and bandage on your head need to remain dry. But I did take the liberty of running a bath for you." She paused watching for Iris' nod of acknowledgement under the blanket. "It's not going to be very hot, but it should be comfortable enough for you and allow you to get clean. I'm afraid you also can't use any soap."

"I understand. Thank you," Iris replied under the blanket.

"There's a clean hospital gown and some towels in the bathroom for you. But if you're going to bathe, I need to take your IV's out. They're only pumping a saline solution right now anyway." She paused again, waiting for Iris' customary nod. "Can you come out from under the blanket so I can remove them? Don't worry, it's just me in the room." She tried to sound as reassuring as she could, while trying to remain firm and professional.

Iris gave an audible sigh and then slowly rolled onto her back. She pulled the cover from her head and sat up, putting her arms with the clear wires over the blanket. Sailor Mercury gave another small smile and then stepped forward. She started to gently remove the IV lines one at a time.

"Are you hungry?" Sailor Mercury asked, trying to keep things on a light note as she worked.

Iris simply nodded, her eyes focused solely on where Sailor Mercury worked.

"I can't give you too much to eat. We can't afford any drug interactions; but what sounds good to you?" There was a moment of silence before Sailor Mercury thought to add: "don't worry. This isn't like the hospitals you remember. The food here is actually very good." She gave a slight chuckle hoping to ease the tense patient.

"That's good to hear, I always hated hospitals," Iris flatly replied, still watching the various clear tubes being disconnected from her body.

"Me too," Sailor Mercury replied before switching to the other arm. "Funny that I've always wanted to be a doctor at the same time, huh?"

Iris gave a slight smile, but her focus remained on the wires Sailor Mercury was pulling out. For a brief moment, it amazed her that whoever put them in her was able to find so many decent veins. Perhaps they knew something the doctors of old that she had encountered didn't.

"So what sounds good to you?" Sailor Mercury asked again, rolling up the IV lines and pushing the large wheeled machines against a clear section of wall.

"Can I have pizza? Only a slice, but I can't remember the last time I had any," the young blonde girl said shyly pulling the thick braid over her shoulder. She began to run her fingers over it.

Sailor Mercury gave a slight chuckle, "a while ago I would have had to say no. Too greasy and unhealthy. Now though, it's all organic and fresh ingredients. Plus, I'm sure the others are hungry as well. I will have a note sent down to the hospital cafeteria with your request. You wash up and do what you need to do until then."

Iris smiled her thanks. She tilted her head to the door on the far side of the room, the one that clearly lead to the personal bathroom.

"You're probably too weak to walk by yourself. Do you mind if I help?" Sailor Mercury asked. The girl gave a slight nod and moved her legs to the edge of the bed and threw the blanket off of her. She avoided glancing at her legs, not wanting to see the scars that covered them. Sailor Mercury stepped beside her and put her arm under Iris' left arm and around her back. Iris put all of her weight on the blue haired doctor while she led her to the bathroom. The doctor opened the door and helped her stand in front of the full length mirror beside the small porcelain sink. There was another mirror above the sink. On a small counter towards the back, further passed the toilet, was a pile of towels and the clean white hospital gown that Sailor Mercury had mentioned.

"I had the mirror brought here while you were sleeping. I figured you'd want it to cast your spells to ensure that your entire body is covered. I'll be right outside the door," Sailor Mercury said, "so shout for me if you need anything."

Iris nodded and Sailor Mercury let go of her. She walked out of the bathroom and closed the door slowly behind her, leaving it slightly cracked in case she needed to enter quickly. Iris took a deep breath and took off her gown; she looked into the full length mirror and stared in shock and awe at herself.

She leaned closer into the mirror, looking at her face. There was a huge scar on it. It went from the edge of her left eye to the right corner of her mouth, splitting her nose like a ghastly picture. This had been one of her first, more severe, wounds when she had first been captured. She had very clearly told her owner "no," but he had failed to understand the English statement. It was meant to be a defiance against rape, but, no matter what she said, the crazed owner didn't stop. She punched him, square in the jaw, which only led to the violent slash across her face.

For years, it had been her reminder to never speak out against one of her cruel owners. She traced the rigid scar with her forefinger, murmuring the Latin words for the glamor spell. The spell was meant to be permanent as long as she maintained her inner focus to consistently re-strengthen it. When her owner, Pedat, had taught her this spell he said she would never have to see these scars again. Why did the Silver Moon Crystal have to take it away?

Once that large scar was gone she looked down to her stomach. On her left side, below her breasts, was another large scar. Another one of her early owners was a black market dealer. He received plenty of customers asking for organs, human flesh, and other horrifying things. He bought her for one reason. She still had both of her kidneys. He took her left kidney, sewed her back up, and then sold her to someone else before any symptoms of infection could appear. She was so grateful she had survived the entire ordeal; but she had been awake and without any anesthetic during the entire procedure. The frozen metal table, the terrifying-looking surgical tools, and that demon's malicious face were some of the many things that continued to haunt her every night.

She took another deep breath, trying to clear her head from the painful memory. She cast another spell, running her fingers over the scar until it disappeared. The tub behind her was full of water, and she knew she didn't want it to get too cold before she could bathe. Luckily she could remember where almost every scar was, every story behind each one and every terrifying person that had created them.

With the two main scars gone, she settled into the water and set to work in camouflaging the rest. With each scar's disappearance and the warm bath water surrounding her, she was slowly beginning to feel like a whole Iris once again.

The large muscular body fell lifeless to the ground. Its arms and legs were splayed at abnormal angles and the owner's face remained in a petrified scream. Shang Tsung stepped down the stairs and around Jarek's body. He stared down at the man's paralyzed face..

"Apology accepted, Jarek," he said calmly. He looked over to his right hand; a crazed claw-like gesture was created by his fingers as they pointed to the ceiling. A ball of dark green energy floated above the palm and Shang Tsung smiled as he stared at it. The essence of Jarek's soul glowed a bit brighter before melting into Shang's flexed fingers and hand. The bright light traveled down his wrist and forearm before being fully absorbed into the rest of his body.

The cruel Asian man stood up a little straighter as he felt Jarek's strength become a part of him. He felt younger, stronger, and more alive than he had just moments before. He walked back up the stairs in a ceremonious, yet subtle, fashion. When he reached the top of the stairs, he turned swiftly throwing his long black ponytail over his shoulder and behind him before sitting on the golden throne with the intricate dragon carvings.

He looked to the left and right of the throne's platform. The two guards he looked at immediately moved. They came to the bottom of the steps and quickly picked up the lifeless husk of Jarek's body. They carried it out of the room, taking it to be burned in the fortress's furnace in the basement. Shang couldn't help but smile again as he watched his once proud lieutenant be carried off like a pile of trash.

When the two guards left the room and the two guards stationed at the main entrance closed the doors behind them, Shang Tsung settled back into the soft cushion of the throne. He looked forward to the bottom of the stairs. The dark skinned Tanya stood patiently, her black and yellow outfit flickered in the firelight from the various torches around the room that lit the entire hall. She stepped forward, maintaining her stiff composure. Her eyes made it known that she was nervous, afraid that she would suffer the same fate as her colleague: Jarek. Shang showed no emotion, but he secretly loved seeing the fear in his underlings. He knew it was better to be feared than respected, it made them less likely to double cross him or fail in their duties.

She came to the very bottom of the steps and knelt down on one knee before them. Her head bent forward, giving as submissive a pose as she could.

"We are going to Crystal Tokyo," Shang Tsung announced, "we are going to take back what is mine!"

Tanya nodded at him. She had no right to question her master's rash plan. And of course, she did not wish to anger him. He could have easily taken her soul as well.

"Are we going to use another portal, my master?" Tanya quietly asked.

"No. We will travel by land to keep our appearance passive. If we appear to come in peace, they will be more likely to let us go right up to the Crystal Palace itself," Shang Tsung replied, sounding arrogant and confident at the same time. Tanya could only nod her head and prepared herself to follow her master in enemy territory.

Iris wasn't sure how long she had been in the bathroom. She was so focused on her important task and the feeling of the lukewarm water against her skin that time seemed to pass by at a rabbit's pace. When she finally stepped out of the tub, she stood in front of the mirror again and looked for all the minor scars she had missed. The longer she work, the faster things went. It only took a few seconds to hide a scar and she had become skilled enough she didn't even need to touch it. She simply had stare at it in the mirror, mummer the words, and watch as the puckered line or blemishes vanished.

There was a knock on the door. "Still doing ok?" Sailor Mercury's voice asked through the still slightly open door.

"I'll be out in a minute," Iris called back. She was feeling much more cheery than she had been just hours before. She was even sounding a bit normal again!

"We have a fresh piece of pizza out here, when you're finished," Sailor Mercury said.

This had been the statement Iris had been waiting for. She made the last few scars on her back disappear and used her towel to dry off any leftover moisture from the bath water. She quickly grabbed the hospital gown and tied it over her body. Her excitement made her move a bit faster than she should have, and when she opened the bathroom door she stumbled a bit. Apparently her long hours lying in the hospital bed had affected her balance and stability to some degree.

She tried to laugh the embarrassing moment off as Sailor Mercury gently led her back to the bed. She sat back onto the mattress and thick feather-filled pillows, which were now propped up so she could sit up comfortably. Sailor Mercury set a tray with the single slice of pizza over her straight legs. The strong aroma of it made its way up to her nose and it smelled even better than Iris remembered. Of course, this must have been due to the organic and fresh ingredients Sailor Mercury had mentioned.

"Is it alright if I invite the others in?" Sailor Mercury questioned, as she handed Iris the plate with the large piece of pizza on it.

Iris nodded and before Sailor Mercury could turn toward the door she asked, "I wanted to ask if this would be ok…" she waited for Sailor Mercury to look back at her and give her full attention. "I wanted to know if I could do an illusion spell. It might help to explain everything to them that I need to."

"How much energy will it take?" The blue haired doctor asked seriously.

"Not too much, I don't think. I was using magic almost every day for… a long time. I can handle a bit more than most," Iris replied with a clear hint of shyness.

Sailor Mercury nodded in understanding. "When you're done eating I need to hook you back up to the IVs. Afterwards you need to rest. If you feel any discomfort, or if I see any other reason, you need to stop what you're doing immediately and rest. I can give you a sedative if needed, but you're still too weak to put any sort of strain on your body. Letting you take a bath at this early stage was definitely against my recommendations." Her voice was stern making sure what she said resonated its seriousness. She definitely sounded like a professional, no one could question that.

Iris gave her nod of understanding, "how long will I have to stay here? Not that I don't like the hospital and being treated by you… but like I said earlier, I do hate hospitals in general." She gave a breathy laugh, hoping the doctor would understand and also to lighten the mood a little.

Sailor Mercury gave her a smile and said, "maybe a week, could be longer though. It all depends on what needs to be done and how you're doing. With all our medical advancements it'll be much faster than you might expect." Iris smiled back and showed that she understood and then she gestured for Sailor Mercury to go to the door and let everyone in.

Surprisingly, Sailor Venus was the first to enter. She had a huge smile on her face and almost seemed to skip to the chair on Iris' right. She then held out a bright red rose and Iris took it, slowly, with a grateful and surprised smile. "Neo-Queen Serenity sent it with the letter. It's kind of King Endymion's signature. They both hope you have a speedy recovery."

Iris couldn't force the words of thanks out of her throat, but it was obvious by the smile on her face. Sailors Mars, Uranus, and Neptune were the next ones to enter. They sat on either side of Sailor Venus and Sailor Mercury began to hand out plates and the box with the remainder of the pizza around.

A few seconds later, Hybrid slowly came in. His face looked grief stricken and pale, as if he had suffered years of depression and illness. He looked much older than his youthful appearance would suggest. Sailor Jupiter was holding his hand and urged him to sit in the chair at Iris' left. When he sat, Iris felt the urge to put her hand out to him, but she knew his touch would make her shake and cry, and the very trauma would probably send her under the white blanket again.

Sailor Jupiter took the chair next to her husband and gratefully took two plates from Sailor Mercury. She put a piece of pizza on each and handed one to Hybrid. He didn't take it for several moments, his eyes unable to leave Iris' face. Sailor Mercury took a seat at the end of the bed, taking a piece of pizza of her own.

"Are you feeling better?" Sailor Venus asked, breaking a slightly awkward silence.

"Venus," Mars whispered harshly between gritted teeth.

Iris couldn't help but laugh at little at the exchange. She knew Sailor Venus meant no harm, but Sailor Mars was concerned about her asking seemingly inappropriate questions. "I am… thank you guys," she looked around at the room of women and her brother, "I'm sorry I made you wait."

"You don't have any reason to be sorry," Sailor Neptune said.

Iris looked around again and then looked to Sailor Jupiter, "where's Tera?"

"She wanted to be with her friends. You know how teenagers can be," the tall brunette replied with a slight laugh, "I'm sorry she left without saying anything."

"No," Iris cut in, "I'm glad she's with friends. Uhm…" she froze for a moment, looking at Hybrid. He remained staring into space, his hands clutching either side of his plate of pizza. "Where's mom?" She asked quietly.

That question got Hybrid to look at her, his eyes changing from the blank emptiness to one of sorrow and remorse. His face fell into sadness and embarrassment, and again Iris felt the need to reach out for him; but she couldn't.

"Don't… don't worry about it," Iris said, looking back at her own plate in her hands. "Losing dad and me… I think I always knew it would be too much for her. And…" she glanced back up at Hybrid as her own eyes were quickly becoming moist with grief, "I'm sorry you had to deal with all of that… alone."

Silence filled the room again, and Hybrid's head remained rooted in its gesture of shame and repentance and then he brought his hands to his face. "How can you be sorry? I'm…"he couldn't get the words out. He wanted, needed, to apologize and tell her how he had failed her, but his throat seemed to close up on him.

Sailor Jupiter put an arm around him and rubbed his back, trying to soothe her husband. "It's alright," she cooed, pressing her forehead against his cheek. She gave him a gentle kiss and Iris felt a sad smile creep up on her. This tall beautiful woman truly loved him, it was so clear and obvious, and Iris was so happy he had found her.

She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes of the slight moisture that was forming. "So… Sailor Mercury is a fantastic doctor," she said cheerily, trying again to lighten the mood, "what do all of you do?"

"Well, Uranus and I are musicians. When we aren't part of a battle group, we play at all the play houses and sometimes travel around the world," Sailor Neptune said happily. "Uranus plays the piano, and I play the violin." The butch blonde beside her nodded in agreement before returning to eat her pizza.

"I played the flute in grade school," Iris added, "though Sean… I mean, Hybrid… will attest to how horrible I was." Everyone quietly laughed at her comment. Everyone but Hybrid, who remained staring at the plate on his lap.

"I run the Hikawa Shrine temple," Sailor Mars said, smiling as Iris finally took a bite of her pizza slice. The girl gave an excited smile through her chewing. She swallowed quickly and immediately took another bite, while continuing to look and listen to the raven haired woman. "I was a temple maiden for the original Hikawa Shrine that my grandfather ran, before the Great Sleep."

"I run the community recreation center for this part of the city," Sailor Venus added. She quickly filled Iris in on her life while everyone else ate. Sailor Jupiter then told her how she was the head of the Royal Guard and how Hybrid actually led the battle teams against any crime groups or individuals that threaten the people of the Earth Kingdom. Sailor Jupiter glowingly talked about how she loved being a mother and wife to him and Tera on her time off.

When everyone had finished speaking, Iris had finished her pizza and handed the paper plate back to Sailor Mercury who disposed of it. She watched happily as everyone went for a second piece, and while Sailor Jupiter urged Hybrid to eat. She set the red rose down on her lap and took in a deep breath, preparing for the story that she was about to tell.

"Of course, I am sure you all have questions and I think its only fair… no... I need to tell you what happened to me." Silence quickly fell over the room and all eyes returned to the young blonde sitting up in the hospital bed. Her skin colour was visibly glowing and clean without any blemishes or scars and even the wrap on her head didn't seem to impair her youthful beauty. She took another deep breath and they all waited silently for her to continue.

"I was kidnapped…" she said. "I don't really remember how, just fragments really. I barely remember when. I know we had just gotten to the airport in France." Hybrid looked up at her, staring intensely as she spoke. This was it, this was the information he had wanted to discover from the moment she had first disappeared. This was the information he needed, so he knew who to make pay for their crimes.

Iris sat up even straighter on the bed and threw her hands out. A blue orb appeared in her right hand, and a purple one in her left. For a moment, Sailor Uranus glared, preparing to stand up and attack if this was trick. Iris threw the orbs into the air, ignoring Sailor Uranus' glare and the others' awed expressions. The two orbs collided into the air and suddenly a light spread out across the room. It grew dimmer and gave form to a 3D picture of a dark and seedy city. The buildings were tall and grey and the streets were made of grimy cobblestone.

"How are you doing this?" Sailor Venus breathed out.

"I am using magic to project my memories out so that you can see them. That is not what I wanted to show you though," Iris replied, looking briefly at Sailor Venus while still maintaining the floating hologram. There was a brief pause before Iris turned back to the image and continued talking.

"This is Negonall…" Iris said, "it's where I spent, pretty much, all of my life, or however long I was gone." She took another deep breath trying to settle her nerves so she could continue to speak. "From what I understand, it's a separate dimension from this one. It lies in between every other dimension. If you don't live there, you can only get there by portal. It's, more or less, a trading center for everyone… or, I guess, thing. For a long time… I can't really say how long or short, I was bought and sold by many of the demons that lived there."

There was a slight collective gasp to Iris' right. Sailors Venus, Mars, and Neptune had thrown their hands to their faces and they stared up at the scene in awe. The expressions on their faces ranged from horror to disgust to shock. Iris waved a hand and another image appeared. In some respects, it looked like a man, but his skin was green and hair and eyes were black. He only wore brown trousers and his features weren't very well defined. He stood in the middle of the street, looking out into space.

"This is a Jinkinin. They're demons and the primary demon species of Negonall," Iris said, biting her lip. "All of my owners were Jinkinin." Hybrid was looking up at the illusion of the creature, his hands tightened into fists and he held them so hard they were turning white. Iris waved another hand and the image of the Jinkinin disappeared.

The scene moved slowly along the street, between buildings and undefined shops until it stopped at a descent sized kiosk. It was sparkling with jewels, silks, and other trinkets. "This stall was owned by a demon named Pedat. He bought me some time in the middle of all my time there…" She waved a hand and a fat Jinkinin man appeared. His face was covered with a thick black beard and his thick dirty hair was pulled back in a small braid at his neck.

"He had me for a long time. Over the years he taught me magic, how to take care of myself, and present myself as a healthy human. He also taught me many of the dominant languages. Luckily my father…." She paused and cleared her throat, "our father," she corrected, "taught us Latin and bits of other languages. I was able to pick up on the Jinkinin tongue and such fairly quickly." She waved her hands and the scene changed again. Instead of the dimly lit streets of Negonall, it was now a scene of the very fancy interior of a house.

"This was where Pedat lived. I guess I was lucky; I had my own room, descent clothes, meals, and could shower fairly regularly."

"So… he was a good demon?" Sailor Venus cut in.

Iris shook her head, "the reason he taught me so much… and took care of me was because he wanted to eventually sell me for a higher price. Healthy beautiful women, with language skills, sell for a higher price in the demon trading circles." She bit down on her lower lip, noticing Hybrid's hand and face redden as he glared at the picturesque scene. She knew this entire thing would make him beyond angry, but that had been the last thing she wanted. Regardless, she knew that she had to go on. She took another deep breath and continued, "Pedat was killed while he was at work, and I was back at the house studying. After they killed him, they raided his house, stole me, and sold me. It was just another round of being bought and sold to more people… I'd give more details of what was done to me… but… well, I guess my scars more or less told that story…"

She paused again, trying to wipe back her tears. Most of the people around her nodded their heads in understanding, and some of them gave her weak smiles to tell her to go on and let her know she had their support. She took another breath and looked back at the scene. She waved her hand and the scene moved back out into the city and down the streets, past several stalls and buildings, until it landed on a large circular building. The stone it was made with was black and grungy. It was littered with vibrant neon signs in shapes of naked women, much like the stereotypical strip clubs of old.

The scene seemed to zoom in on a white poster. There were strange symbols plastered across it. "It says 'ne kemi bova e bukur Eris: balerin më magjike dhe të aftë në Negonall '. Which means, 'we have the beautiful bova…' more or less their term for cow or cattle, 'Iris, the most magical and skilled dancer in Negonall.' Or at least that's what it roughly translates too. This is the Curisex club."

Hybrid handed the plate of untouched pizza back to Sailor Jupiter and quickly stood up. He walked to the wall behind him and began to pace. His fists were growing whiter by the minute. He glanced up at the detailed scene of the black building. The white poster seemed to mock him as internal fire filled his blue eyes. His partner, the symbiote inside, him twitched to the surface, ready to strike at his command. It broke its disguise as his armour and a few small tendrils became visible before melting back into the main body again. Iris saw this and it surprised her, although she didn't know what anything was like in this new world.

Iris quickly waved her hand and the scene moved to the interior of the building. There were tables, chairs, and bars all around the room and in the middle was a circular black stage, with a stripper pole that came from the ceiling and stood near the middle. Iris showed how the center of the stage went down into the slave quarters. She showed them the small cell that had been her home for so long. It was small and dirty, with a single cot in the corner and a small red light above it.

She showed an image of the large female Jinkinin, Latice, and explained how Iris had quickly become her favorite. Thanks to Padet's magical training and language studies, Iris became well known in the Negonallan world and well cared for, when compared to the other Curisex slaves. The hardest thing to talk about were the side rooms, where customers would pay to have time with her for their own sadistic and perverted rituals. She breathed through it, trying to keep a brave face as her brother pounded his fist into the wall, leaving a noticeable dent. The other sailors shared his anger and discomfort, but kept their emotions in check.

She went on to explain how Latice would often let her leave to run errands around Negonall and this was how she managed to find a portal that humans used to travel to and from Earth. This was how she knew which portal to take and how to get back home. Sailor Mars cut it with a cry, "humans were coming here too?" It was the first mention of humans in a different context than being used as slaves and sex objects.

Iris gave a sad nod and continued with the end of her tale. She told them how she had managed to escape and that before she went through the portal she was stopped by an old Chinese man. She was able to speak to him because the language was very similar to one of the demon clans she had dealt with. She didn't explain about Ann. She wasn't willing to go there just yet. Talking about Ann would only bring her more grief and admitting to her failure would be too much for her.

"I don't know how I made it to the portal. He was so fast and strong. I don't remember his name or he didn't give it, it's mostly a blur," she waved her hand again to show the alleyway to the portal and an image of the man she had come across. "I don't know why he was there. He made it clear he didn't want me to leave. I knew Latice wouldn't let me leave… I was like her prize dog… I wonder if she hired him."

"So, do you think he sent those guys after you?" Sailor Uranus finally spoke up.

Iris clapped her hands and the 3D image disappeared. She gave a shrug showing that she truly didn't know. It would make sense, but why was he after her to begin with?

"Well, whoever else comes after you, we will stop them," Sailor Uranus said, her eyes narrowed and hands balled into fists.

"So we can only get to Negonall by portal," Hybrid stated, finally stopping his pace. "We'll destroy it," his eyes shot daggers into the air.

"No," Iris shouted, "you can't go there!" What was she saying? Seeing that place burn had been her dream, one of the only things that had given her hope during those long nights in her cell. It was too dangerous and she couldn't ask her own brother and new friends to go there; even if it was a way of exacting revenge. "The Jinkinin are too powerful," she said, trying to convince Hybrid to stand down. "And if there are any other demons there, either living there or visiting, they have powers and skills you couldn't imagine. It's too dangerous Sean… Hybrid. Please, don't go there. Stay here… with me." She began to cry out, pulling the blanket over her body and leaving only her head and face uncovered.

"We won't, at least, not until we know more," Sailor Jupiter said, giving Iris a kind smile.

"NO," Iris shouted shaking her head violently, "please don't go there. It's too dangerous. I don't want any of you to risk your lives, not for me!" She was screaming and her head was quickly swaying back and forth as tears rained down her face.

"Don't worry," Sailor Mercury reached over and put a soft hand on Iris' blanket covered leg. "We won't, I promise. We promise, right Hybrid," she looked up at the angry knight as he moved back and forth. He gave a reluctant nod of the head and then went back to pacing.

"I… I don't know what to say," Sailor Venus said, she looked at Iris with tears in her eyes. "I can't believe you survive all that, and for… I don't know how long."

Sailor Mercury cut in, "you've aged fourteen years. There's no way of knowing exactly how time worked there, or how your own PTSD effected it, but if one year of age is normal, one year in Negonall equals over eighty-six Earth years."

"So it was only about fourteen years?" Iris asked. She had slight disbelief on her face, but it seemed this calculation resonated with something in her and made her feel slightly better. "While, it felt much longer… I guess that sounds and feels about right."

"That's still a long time. How did you make it?" Sailor Venus said, her eyes over-flowing with tears. She looked at Iris with pity and an admiration that the young blonde patient couldn't believe.

"Well… what matters is that you're here now. You _did _survive," Sailor Mars cut in before Iris could respond. Everyone else nodded in agreement. Iris only stared at the pretty raven haired warrior with gratitude and grief.

"Like I said," Sailor Uranus stated, bringing all eyes back to her, "anyone that tries to take you back there, away from us or Hybrid, won't stand a chance. We will stop them."

Iris began to cry even harder, "thank you," she managed, sniffling and wiping her face.

"Ok, that's more than enough for today," Sailor Mercury said, clapping her hands together to get everyone's attention. "Iris _needs_ to rest. So all of you should go home and get some sleep yourselves."

Everyone nodded, except Hybrid. He went back to pacing and Sailor Jupiter watched him with a wary eye. The other Sailors agreed with Sailor Mercury and said their goodbyes and gave Iris kind words of support. They then filtered out of the room and left the hospital. Hybrid continued to pace and Iris looked over at Sailor Jupiter with a consolidating face while Sailor Mercury quickly worked to put the IVs back into her arms.

"Take care of him," Iris whispered to the brunette, just low enough that only she could hear. "It's not his fault. He couldn't have done anything. I'm just glad I found him now and that you're here for him."

Sailor Jupiter nodded in understanding and reached out to put a hand on Iris' head. For moment she flinched under the touch but the small act of comfort soothed her. Sailor Jupiter turned to Hybrid and said, "come on, Hun. _All_ of us need to rest."

Hybrid shook his head and glared at her, "I'm not going anywhere."

"You need to leave," Sailor Mercury said, unraveling the last of the IV tubes and taking out a clean needle to put in Iris' arm. "Staying here won't do anyone any good. She needs to sleep, and you both need to get some rest. We'll keep an eye on her, and tomorrow we still need to run some more tests and take care of those bones."

Hybrid folded his arms over his chest, showing his defiance. Sailor Jupiter stood up and took an arm and tried to lead him to the door. "We'll be back tomorrow," she said trying to pull him to the door. His arms fell to the side and he gave a look of defeat.

"You'll let us know if anything happens, right?" Hybrid asked Sailor Mercury.

"Of course," said the doctor. She then waved them to the door and she and Iris watched as they made their slow exit.

Sailor Mars sat alone in the temple. A warm fire flared before her in the sacred ground pit and she stared into it blankly. Her eyes were beginning to fill with tears again. It had been four days since Iris, Hybrid's sister, had arrived in Crystal Tokyo and since she had told her horrifying tale of the many years of sexual and physical abuse, torture, and slavery. The more time that went on, the more shell shocked the fire warrior felt as the terrifying story sunk deep within her. She couldn't believe someone so young had been through so much. That she managed to survive; and while some days she was completely unreachable, throwing fits, and hiding under her blankets, most days the girl seemed relatively normal, perfectly strong, and capable. Sailor Mars knew if she had gone through all of that, she wouldn't be ok: she would never be able to live with herself again.

The door behind her slid open. "Sailor Mars?" Michael's accented voice echoed through the small room. It was her personal meditation room, off of the main structure of the temple. Very few people came in there and she certainly didn't expect Michael Morbius to make his way inside without her invitation.

She spun around and looked up at him. Tears filling her eyes. He looked down at her with compassion and concern, and she suddenly felt slightly better about being in his presence. "Is Iris ok?" She asked, wiping her face.

"Yea, we finished the last surgery today. After some rest she'll be allowed to leave the hospital. She's incredible. I wouldn't have known anything was wrong with her were it not for the night terrors. I've given her plenty of herbs and supplements that seem to help ease her mental instability."

"Where will she stay?" Sailor Mars quietly asked. She didn't verbalize it but she had already started preparing a room at the temple for Iris.

"Hybrid, Jupiter, and Tera will take her. They'll also bring her to Neo-Queen Serenity for the usual cleansing of new citizens of Crystal Tokyo. When she seems stable and more integrated with the daily life, she might be given her own house or live with someone else. Sailor Venus has already offered, to no one's great surprise." He gave a slight shrug, "either way things are going very well."

Sailor Mars stood up and gave a weak smile and nod of her head. She then threw herself forward, throwing her face into his broad chest. "Oh Michael, it's so horrible," she sobbed. He put his arms around her, a bit awkwardly at first. He had dreamed of holding her like this all of these past months, but he never imagined she would be crying when he finally had the chance. "I… I can't believe what she went through," she continued, her words coming out in muffled cries against him.

He wrapped his arms around her and held her even tighter. "I know," he whispered, "but she'll be ok. You'll be ok. You're one of the strongest women I've ever met."

She laughed a bit between the sobs and looked up at him. "Surely, she's much stronger."

He gave another shrug of his shoulders and lightly patted her hair, "the fact that you and the others are here for her, just shows the love and strength all of you possess. Everything will be fine." He fought against the urge to lean down and kiss her. Even though her face was red and covered in tears, the raven haired woman was still the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

"Thank you," she said putting her head back down and pressing against his chest. "You're the greatest friend I could ever ask for."

It was finally the day Iris could leave the hospital. Of course, she was grateful for all Sailor Mercury and the other doctors had done for her, but she hated the idea of being a patient and being in a hospital for any longer than what was absolutely necessary. True, medicine now and the entire facility and machines were much better than they had ever been, but Iris had never liked hospitals. Even being in a nicer one still gave her an uneasy feeling.

Sailor Mercury was outside the hospital room with Hybrid and Sailor Jupiter going over the list of medications she had to take regularly until her body fully healed and for her mental health. The doctor had made it clear that she trusted the young blonde to regularly take her meds, but it was a good idea to let other people know, especially her temporary caretakers. Iris hated the word, regardless of how true it was. She had to take antidepressants and vitamins every morning, drink some tea with every meal to mellow her out (some new discovery from Dr. Morbius), another mood stabilizer as needed if she was about to have a flashback or panic attack, and some sleep aids at night if she knew she would have another round of severe night terrors. It was a long scary list, but she seemed to be doing better because of it.

Iris was excited to finally change out of her hospital gown and into a pair of new clothes. The trousers and blue shirt she had worn when she arrived in the city were dirty and bloody so Sailor Mercury had thrown them out with her permission. She put on a new pair of woven brown pants and another blue shirt with long sleeves. Blue was definitely her color and it was working well with her golden blonde hair. She felt stronger and better being fully dressed in regular clothes again and was able to walk out of the room with a confident air and a small hint of a swagger.

"If you have any problems," Sailor Mercury turned to her when she met the group of three. "Hybrid or Jupiter can contact me on their communicators, ok?"

Iris nodded with a smile, Sailor Mercury was definitely thorough and wasn't afraid to repeat any information to make sure everyone completely understood. Iris then threw her arms up and gently gave the blue haired doctor a hug. It wasn't a full hug, but a light and gentle one, one she had been practicing with her mental health therapist over the past week. She still wasn't used to being touched, but if she initiated it she could handle it. Sailor Mercury gently hugged her back and then gave her goodbyes before turning to get back to her other patients and hospital duties.

Sailor Jupiter and Hybrid gathered Iris' things and they all made their way out of the hospital. It was the first breath of fresh air Iris had taken since she had landed here just over a week ago. It felt incredible to be back outside and feel the sunshine on her skin again.

Over her week there, everyone had spent most of their time trying to cheer her up and fill her in on all the years she had missed. During Hybrid's visits, he had explained how he had originally taken the name of Carnage and spent many years searching for her and how giving up the search for her was the hardest thing he ever had to do. Iris comforted him, and was surprised he had spent so much of his life in pursuit of her. Both he and Sailor Jupiter told her slightly different versions he had met the Sailors and fell in love with each other. They and the other sailors told Iris about the many enemies they had faced and she was retold about the Great Sleep in greater detail than what Garin had been able to tell her.

The darker side of Carnage's symbiote and how it had taken hold of Hybrid's body and how he had nearly destroyed Crystal Tokyo was explained in great detail. Hybrid didn't speak much during this time, but Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus were happy to tell the terrific story. At the story's conclusion, she learned why he had taken the name of Hybrid and how Sailor Jupiter had convinced him not to beat himself up over crimes that he had no control over and instead live for her and their yet unborn daughter.

The account of the battle between the Sinister Seven and how the younger generation of Sailors got to prove themselves as warriors was the story Iris had enjoyed the most. Tera, young Usagi, Sailors Juno, Vesta, Ceres, and Pallas all came to her room to tell her the tale themselves. This was the most her niece had ever spoken and she showed her true vibrant colors when it was her turn to talk.

After a relatively short walk through the busy streets of the city, they entered the small home in the Minato district. Hybrid put down her things and both he and Tera showed Iris to the young girl's room. Tera had stayed home to clean it up and make it look presentable for her new aunt, though she wasn't too excited to give her room up. Iris unpacked her bags after Hybrid retrieved them from the front area and made herself comfortable while Sailor Jupiter began to cook a large dinner in the kitchen area. When the food was completed, they all went outside into the private garden section of the district and were met by all the other Sailors. It was a gathering that Sailor Venus had organized as their official welcoming of Iris to the sailor family. They all feasted and celebrated Iris' return to 'the real world' until long after the sun had set.

After the dinner and festivities were over, Iris, Hybrid, Sailor Jupiter, and Tera made their way back into the house. While the three sailor guardians cleaned up, Iris took a shower. She had gotten into the habit of showering every day. After spending years without a proper shower, it was a luxury that she began to take full advantage of. After she showered and dressed in her pajamas, she sat on her niece's bed that would be hers for a while. She took out a small notebook and pen that her mental health therapist had given her and began to write on the fresh pages. Her therapist had explained that writing down her thoughts would help her ease through the transition of settling back into a normal and safe way of life.

There was a slight knock on the door, and then Hybrid made his way in a few seconds later. Iris closed the notebook and waved for him to sit in the chair closest to her. "What were you doing?" He asked curiously as he pulled the chair to the edge of the bed and sat down.

"Ms. Ryko, my therapist, wanted me to start keeping a journal. Something about how graphotherapy seems to help a lot of patients," Iris replied with a smile.

"You were never very good at keeping a journal or dairy," Hybrid laughed, "you had tones of them around your room, but only the first few pages had anything in them before you forgot about them."

She tried to hold back a smile and narrowed her eyes in a sarcastic glare, "I always knew you tried to read my dairies. You jerk." They both laughed for a bit as they reminiscence about their childhood and the memories that they had shared. "I think the hardest thing for me right now is figuring out what language to write it in…"

He lifted an eyebrow at her.

"I mean, Japanese is close to the Groxlar clan, and that is what we're speaking… but I never learned how to write it. I actually haven't written anything in a long time… so even English is a bit strange to me now. I feel like I'm mixing between Jikinin and a few other languages." She opened up the journal to show him. The first third of the journal was filled with strange symbols, letters, and even silly drawings a child might do. "I feel like a kindergartener, just learning how to write."

He smiled at her and closed the journal. "Is reading difficult now too?"

"Kind of, Dr. Mercury would take me to the hospital library and let me pick out a few books at a time. I can read, but it takes some time."

He nodded and then reached into his back pocket. "I got you this," he held out a small paperback book. It looked brand new and freshly made, and the cover had a picture of a wolf hybrid waving its hands over a crystal ball. "A lot of … actually most of the world's books were lost in the Great Sleep. Luckily we have some great literary people alive that try to recreate them. I know this was your favorite growing up."

Iris stared at the cover in awe. The title read "The Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey". It was a book she used to read every year, even after it had fallen apart and the cover worn off. It was a fantasy based on the fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast, one that she had loved even at a young age. She slowly took it from him, glancing through the pages.

"Mercedes Lackey is still alive. So it should be pretty close to the original… and probably has some additional stuff in it," He said as he watched her flip through the pages.

"Wow, Sean! This is amazing!" She beamed, clutching the book to her chest.

He smiled back at her, pleased to see that his sister was happy and smiling again. It didn't matter that she kept calling him by his old human name, just that she was back with him and seemingly back to herself. He glanced to his right at the small bedside table with a single burning candle. It was covered with herbs, pill and vitamin bottles, and had a large glass of water beside it. His smile faded and he noticed that she was watching him. He shrugged it off and asked, "so, what do you want to do tomorrow?"

"When will we get cleansed by the Silver Moon Crystal? Jupiter explained that you guys get cleansed regularly because…" she stopped herself from saying anymore.

"We scheduled it for two days from now, so we have plenty of time to kill and enjoy the sights and sounds of the city," he replied with a bit of forced joyfulness.

She shrugged and gave a laugh, "I don't know. Maybe show me around Crystal Tokyo's shopping sections? If this is where I'm going to be living, I should know the city and where to get the coolest clothing."

He gave a face of agreement and understanding, as if he was saying "very true". They continued to talk and laugh about many things for the next several hours. Iris actually became comfortable enough to reach for his hand and hold it in hers. Hybrid definitely seemed to appreciate this. He needed to be close to his sister, even with her here this past week it still all seemed like a dream. Feeling her touch made him finally begin to believe that it was indeed real.

Sailor Jupiter came into the room after a little bit and sat next to her husband. She joined their silly conversations about their childhoods and random topics of discussion. It went late into the night, and finally Sailor Jupiter pointed out the passage of time with a deep yawn. Reluctantly, Hybrid left the room with her, leaving the door open slightly incase Iris needed anything. Iris smiled at him and assured him that she would be there in the morning and how grateful she was to be there with him and his family. She listened for several minutes for them to close their own bedroom door across the hall and the rustling of bed sheets as they settled into bed. She looked over at the medicine on the bedside table and decided to wait to take what she needed. She wanted to stay awake a bit longer and didn't want the various pills to make her feel drowsy.

Now that she was alone again, her mind drifted to something that had been gnawing at her since she had first woken up. Iris had noticed from the very moment she had first met her niece that Tera had been eyeing her suspiciously. She couldn't blame the young teenager. She was a stranger and had forcibly invaded the girl's personal space. With her brother and sister-in-law turning in for the night, she knew this was the best opportunity she had to talk privately with her niece.

She knew the young girl would still be awake. Although, she was physically and considerably older than Tera, she was still a young girl at heart. Sometimes she even felt like the teenager she once was before being kidnapped. She went to the edge of the bedroom door and quietly opened it further. She poked her head out and looked across the hall. The other door was only slightly cracked, but there was no movement that she could see in the darkness.

Iris opened the door a little more and fully stepped out into the hallway. She tiptoed as quietly as she could down the hallway to the main living area. Tera was supposed to be asleep on the couch, but she knew the girl would still be wide awake. She resisted the urge to smile as she thought about how she had been like that when she was younger. The thought of her father's grey head of hair and how much she must have contributed to it amused her slightly. If Tera was anything like her, it was amazing that Hybrid looked as young and healthy as he did.

Sure enough, Tera was lying wide awake on the couch. She stared up at the stone ceiling with her hands draped over her chest. She flicked her bright green eyes over at Iris as she entered the room.

"Sneaking out, are we?" Tera whispered harshly. She sat up, glaring at her aunt in accusation.

"Of course not," Iris quietly said as she smiled, that definitely sounded like the teenager thing to say. "I wanted to talk with you, alone," she finished, wanted to sound as sincere as possible.

"Why?" Tera shot, glaring at her with a hint of rage. Iris took a few more steps around the couch and sat next to her niece, facing the teenager so she could look directly at her. Tera scooted a bit away from her, scowling angrily. Iris knew that face, her brother used to make it all the time when he was younger. The young girl looked so much like her mother. With the long brown hair in a similar ponytail and bright green eyes; but aside from that, and the feminization, she looked so much like the young Hybrid, it astounded her. She couldn't help but give a weak smile.

"Because… can't an aunt speak to her niece without it being an intense stare down?"

Tera didn't laugh as Iris had hoped, but kept the same angry glare on her face.

"I'm not sure what to say to make you trust me…" Iris said slowly, "and I don't blame you for not… trusting me. I just, want to know you and I'd hope you'd come to know me as well."

The scowl on Tera's face remained. "My dad won't fully admit it, but he's still upset with himself for not saving you from the hell you were trapped in. At least, _hell_ is the way he put it. He's beating himself up enough. I can count on one hand the number of times I have seen him in the past doubt himself like he is now. If you do anything to hurt him or make him feel any worse, you and I will have some serious problems," the young girl said in a quiet but intense voice.

Iris stared at the young girl, who stared back at her. While she looked so much like her brother, in reality she looked almost exactly like their mother. That was something Iris hadn't expected. The only difference was that she had those sparkling emeralds where she, Hybrid, and their mother had the deep blue. The intense face she made was almost exactly like her brother's and similar to the scowl their mother used to wear when they had misbehaved. It was amazing how many people this young girl could look like all at once.

"You care about him, and are really protective of him, aren't you?" She finally said, not looking away or backing down from the intense gaze.

"He's my father!" She pointed out, "and I don't just mean him. If you hurt my mother, my queen, my friends, and the people of this world, let it be known that I will do anything to keep them safe."

Iris couldn't help but smile again. She slowly reached out a hand and took Tera's in hers. Although she was slightly hesitant, she had practiced and learned a lot in the hospital. She wanted to hug her niece, let her know everything would be ok, but a simple hand hold would have to do. She looked back up and the dark green pools became, once again, engaged with hers.

"Then you and I have something in common," Iris said quietly with a warmness Tera knew couldn't be faked. "Where I was… was horrible. I don't know how much your dad told you, but I guess hell might be pretty accurate description," Iris said slowly, "but I came back because I love your father, and I've come to love you, your mother, and everyone around you as well."

Tera's eyes began to sparkle with moisture. She nodded her head, showing that she understood her aunt's words. She tried to give off a strong face and keep her composure, but Iris could tell she was having a hard time staying strong. Iris let go of her hand and stretched her arms out, very slowly like she had practiced. She leaned forward and took the young girl in her arms. Tera hugged back, burying her face in her aunt's neck. The two young women remained that way for a long time before finally releasing each other. They both wiped tears from their own eyes and giggled a bit in embarrassment.

"You and the other younger Sailors go to the Ice Cream Parlour a lot, right?"

Tera nodded enthusiastically.

"Do they have Dark Raspberry Truffle?" Iris inquired.

Tera gasped in excitement, "absolutely! That's my favorite. Do you want to go tomorrow?"

"I would love that." Iris replied with a warm smile.

**End of Chapter 7**


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